The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, received today the letters of credence of Dirk Jan Kop, newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of North Macedonia.
At the ceremony of presenting the credentials, President Pendarovski expressed his gratitude for the consistent support from the friendly Netherlands, which, since the independence of our country, is one of the biggest donors and strong supporter of the Republic of North Macedonia’s integration into the EU and NATO.
“The Netherlands has continuously assisted us in reforming the judiciary, the rule of law and public administration, as well as protecting against discrimination of vulnerable and marginalized groups in the society, aimed at building strong and independent institutions which are the pillar of every European democracy. The Dutch “strict and fair” principle has proved to be an excellent formula for essential implementation of the reform agenda and the achievement of the European standards in our country”, President Pendarovski said.
The President expressed hope that very soon, at the outset of your term as Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of North Macedonia, we will celebrate together the formal membership of the Republic of North Macedonia in NATO and begin accession negotiations with the European Union.
“It would be a just and deserved recognition of the achievements and reform efforts of North Macedonia so far”, the President said and voiced hope that the Netherlands will continue to unreservedly help North Macedonia move closer to the European family.
Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop said that he is honoured to be appointed as ambassador to our country and that the Netherlands has proven to be a true friend of North Macedonia since its independence, in good and in difficult times, providing direct support where needed.
“North Macedonia has walked a challenging path and has come far in the last 28 years of its independence, which will be celebrated only two days from today. Just recently, your country has managed to rise from a very difficult political crisis, solve the decades-long name issue and is nowbecoming our ally in NATO. “I sontseto e zvezda” as I have heard being mentioned and I hope that one day it will shine in our Union.”, Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop said.
The Dutch Ambassador added that as a strict and fair friend, the Netherlands will continue to provide support for North Macedonia to implement the EU reform agenda, especially when it comes to rule of law and good governance.
President Pendarovski wished the newly appointed Ambassador success in the performance of the responsible diplomatic duty.
