Today, President Stevo Pendarovski received the President of the Government of the Republic of Finland, Sana Marin.
The focus of the talks was on bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries, North Macedonia’s prospects for the start of EU membership negotiations, emerging political and economic trends in Europe, as well as Finland’s application for NATO membership.
At the meeting, President Pendarovski welcomed the tendency to improve political relations with Finland and thanked them for their consistent and constant support for the European integration of North Macedonia and the EU enlargement policy, as a process of strategic importance for the region.
In that sense, opinions were exchanged regarding the upcoming EU Council and the blockade from Bulgaria, with the president indicating that the enlargement process should not be held hostage to the internal political situations of the member states of the Union.
In the context of stability and security on the European continent, President Pendarovski welcomed Finland’s application to join NATO. He pointed out that North Macedonia is a strong supporter of NATO’s open door policy and we unconditionally support Finland’s membership in the Alliance, which will strengthen security not only in Northern Europe, but also in NATO as a whole.
The meeting also discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation with Finland and deal with the geopolitical challenges imposed by the crisis in Ukraine.
