Norway’s FM Eriksen Soreide on an official visit to Skopje


Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide and FM Nikola Dimitrov discussed bilateral cooperation, regional development, and North Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU, the ministers told a press conference Wednesday.
Norway doubled its support to the Western Balkans in the past two years, according to Minister Eriksen Soreide, to focus on projects developing the rule of law, job creation, and regional cooperation.
The country has also supported North Macedonia in its accession with NATO and the EU, she added.
“It is Europe’s interest to have as close an integration as possible of all countries in Europe, whether they choose to become members or they choose, like us, to have the EEA agreement, and I think you are making very good progress,” Eriksen Søreide said, adding that the countries will work towards continuing their strong bilateral relationship.
FM Dimitrov thanked Norway for its assistance with the reform agenda, support to the entire region, as well as for signing the NATO accession protocol.
“We talked about regional developments and the importance of securing our success through a political decision to start accession negotiations in October,” Minister Dimitrov said.
Minister Eriksen Soreide, who was in a working visit to North Macedonia, also met with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani.
Deputy PM for European Affairs Bujar Osmani met Wednesday with a delegation of the Kingdom of Norway led by Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide.
Osmani underlined that Norway was an important partner and supporter of the EU integration bid, the Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release.
“The Kingdom of Norway is not a member of the EU, but it has always been our strong partner and supporter of North Macedonia’s EU integration bid. I’m very pleased that our cooperation will continue in the upcoming period which is decisive for the country’s EU prospects,” Osmani said, extending gratitude to FM Eriksen Søreide on behalf of the Government, for Norway’s ratification of Nort Macedonia’s NATPO accession protocol.
Talks tackled bilateral cooperation, project support that Norway provides to North Macedonia, as well as the Euro-Atlantic integration of the country with a focus on the EC 2019 Progress Report and the conclusions of the European Council, the press release reads.
Osmani and Eriksen Soreide voiced content regarding the work of the UNOPS Office that was opened in 2018, towards implementing resources from the Kingdom of Norway and Sweden, whose support is the basis for the implementation of UNOPS projects in North Macedonia.
In addition, Osmani said he was convinced that the Nordic Progress Project, which UNOPS is implementing in North Macedonia, will successfully achieve the goal of Government support, strengthening the capacities of the administration for the country’s EU integration.