Bulgaria gives North Macedonia a million leva in development aid in 2019
In 2019, the Bulgarian government has allocated more than a million leva (about 500 000 euro) for 11 development aid projects across the Republic of North Macedonia, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
Zaharieva was speaking in Strumica at the opening of a multifunctional social centre in the municipality, financed with 270 000 leva from the Bulgarian government under development aid.
The presentation was attended by Strumica Mayor Kosta Janevski and North Macedonia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrej Zhernovski.
Six non-government organisations will work at the centre to serve the interests of different groups of people with disabilities, a Bulgarian Foreign Ministry statement said.
Within the framework of development aid, Bulgaria is helping the people of Strumica and the nearby settlements for the second time, the statement said.
“I am very happy to be here precisely a year after Prime Minister Boiko Borissov handed Prime Minister Zoran Zaev the key to the car with which disabled people can be transported, and this project is a kind of upgrade. We support many more meaningful and useful projects in the Republic of North Macedonia,” Zaharieva said.
Other projects Bulgaria is supporting include the construction of a second centre for early diagnosis of autism in Ohrid, the reconstruction of two bridges in Struga and the village of Lozhani, and the construction of sports facilities in Kriva Palanka.
The other projects are aimed at cooperation between the media from both countries and measures against hate speech, festivals in support of cultural exchange, with more than 900 children and adults from Bulgaria participating in 2019 two festivals, provision of sports equipment to six schools and five kindergartens in the municipality of Gyorche Petrov – Skopje, and support for health mediation among Roma people.
At the beginning of 2019 one of the projects for 2018 – the facade of one of the largest schools in Skopje – Dimitar Miladinov Primary School, was completed. The total cost of the project is 255 000 leva.