Turkiye and North Macedonia have agreed to form a high-level cooperation council to strengthen the relationship and double trade, said Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The declaration was made during his meeting with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Hristijan Mickoski.
The leaders formalized a joint declaration to establish a high-level council in Istanbul. “We have agreed to further strengthen our ties and signed the declaration for the establishment of our council. I hope I will soon pay a visit to Skopje for the realization of our first council meeting,” Erdogan said.
President Erdogan noted that Turkish investments in North Macedonia have surpassed $2 billion, while the two nations currently maintain a bilateral trade volume of $1 billion. He emphasized the shared commitment to raising the trade volume twofold in the coming years.
The two leaders assessed potential collaborative defense industry initiatives and reviewed military relationships, underlining their alliance within NATO. Regarding broader regional concerns, Erdogan and Mickoski shared perspectives on diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Mickoski described Turkiye as North Macedonia’s strategic partner and the most influential power in the region. He affirmed the importance of the newly signed joint declaration with Erdogan as a means to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
“With President Erdogan, we discussed security issues as we are NATO allies, and security is the most important issues for us,” Mickoski said. Regarding the economy, Mickoski lauded the investments made by Turkish companies in North Macedonia, reiterating that the trend could be further enhanced with the creation of the cooperation council.
TEXTILE & APPAREL | Pakistan and Brazil Forge Cotton Sector Partnership with MoU
