Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Ljupcho Nikolovski and the Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture Ivan Ivanov signed Tuesday a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of agriculture, agricultural sciences, rural areas and forestry, in the framework of a joint government in Sofia.

Minister Nikolovski pointed out this important bilateral Agreement is a major step in strengthening and advancing bilateral and trade cooperation.

“I believe that we will deliver results in the following period. Today we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Minister Ivanov, we discussed the importance of the agricultural sector, so that the two countries increase cooperation and jointly deliver results. North Macedonia is a leader in the region in terms of utilization of IPARD programs, and the experience of Bulgaria as an EU member will be of great importance in the implementation of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. Enhancement of the forestry and hunting sectors will be one of the priorities in the next period,” said Nikolovski.

According to him, preparations for the formation of working groups from the two ministries in all areas of the Memorandum will begin immediately and the first meeting of the groups will be held at the beginning of February.

The Ministry of Agriculture says the Memorandum opens the possibility for close cooperation between the competent institutions of North Macedonia and Bulgaria in several areas.

The inter-ministerial working groups will work on developing cooperation in the field of implementation of EU Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance, agricultural sciences, forestry and hunting, organic production and processing of organic agricultural products, biotechnology in agriculture and in livestock, selection and reproduction in animal husbandry, as well as transnational cooperation in rural areas and other areas of common interest.

Source: MIA