Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski took part at the Ministerial Meeting on Cross-Border Connectivity between the EU and the Western Balkans, held in the framework of the Slovenian EU Presidency at Brdo pri Kranju on Tuesday.
Minister Bochvarski said in his address that the Republic of North Macedonia aspires towards creating a modern and safe transport system that is adapted to the country’s needs, and ensure greater mobility of citizens in support to sustainable development and economic growth, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a press release.
“Establishing a safe transport system is one of our priorities, including the road and railway transport, IT technologies and intelligent transport systems. The Government promotes regional cooperation through development and modernization of transport infrastructure along the basic and comprehensive Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) that goes through the country,” said Bochvarski.
Regarding border management, he said bilateral agreements with neighboring countries on joint border crossings represent an efficient tool for improvement of the transport of commodities and passengers.
“In parallel with bilateral agreements, we also need to improve the transport infrastructure at border crossings and alongside Corridors 8 and 10,” added Bochvarski.
The meeting included ministers of transport from North Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, and representatives of the Transport Community Secretariat and the European Commission.
At the meeting sidelines, Minister Bochvarski met with Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis, discussing the possibilities for more intensive cooperation between the two ministries and reintroduction of railway line Bitola-Florina alongside Corridor 10-d.
In addition, the association of transporters of Slovenia also held a meeting with regional transport ministers, tackling the facilitation of transport at border crossings, finding ways to facilitate procedures and enlarge green lanes at border crossings with regional EU member states, reads the press release.
