“Together with my colleague Kiril Petkov we shall use fresh energy to improve relations between the two countries,” said the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski after a closed-door meeting with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who is paying a visit to Skopje. “We are beginning to resolve the pending issues intensively,” Dimitar Kovacevski stated.

The two prime ministers made a decision to hold a joint meeting of the governments of the two countries on 25 January this year in Sofia. Bilateral working groups will be formed in the economy, infrastructure, culture, European integration and history.

“From now on good neighborliness will be measured by actual steps,” Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on his part.

Bulgaria agreed to use the name North Macedonia instead of the Republic of North Macedonia, after the authorities in Skopje sent a verbal note to the UN, stating that it only refers to the territory of the country, and not to the geographical area, and that Skopje has no territorial claims to any other country.

PM Kiril Petkov said his hosts had promised that an ambassador of North Macedonia to Sofia would be appointed soon. Petkov added that the Sofia-Skopje airline route, which is under discussion, will become reality within 60 days.

The Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia Teodora Genchovska and Bujar Osmani confirmed that the European integration of the Western Balkans is of national interest to the applicant countries, as well as to the countries members of the EU.