site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva Meets with Macedonian Parliamentary Delegation

Sofia, March 22 (BTA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva Thursday met with a delegation of Macedonian parliamentarians from the Macedonia-Bulgaria Friendship Group led by Frosina Tasevska-Remenski, Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Zaharieva's ministry reported.

Also attending the meeting was the Chair of the Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Group, Boris Vangelov (United Patriots), and Macedonian Ambassador to Bulgaria Maryan Gjorcev.

Zaharieva said at the meeting that since the signing of the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation, many historic things have happened in the relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia in the last eight months. "We are doing well in our efforts to build a new type of open and friendly relations based on the European values," she added.

Zaharieva went on to say that the signing of this treaty has created a positive impulse in various areas of the bilateral relations, as evidenced by the growth by 11 per cent in bilateral trade and by 10 per cent in the number of Bulgarian tourists visiting Macedonia. According to a survey by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, following the signing of the bilateral treaty the number of Bulgarian companies wishing to invest in Macedonia has doubled compared to 2016.

Tasevska-Remenski said that Macedonia considers Bulgaria a sincere friend, and this was felt in practice during the delegation's meetings here. The bilateral treaty signed last year is very important for the citizens of Macedonia, 75 per cent of whom assess it positively, she also said.