site.btaBulgarian Foreign Ministry Welcomes Decision of Macedonian Parliament to Ratify Friendship Agreement with Bulgaria

Sofia, January 15 (BTA)- The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry welcomed Monday the decision of the Macedonian Parliament to ratify the Treaty of Friendship, Goodneighbourliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and
Macedonia. Earlier on Monday the Macedonian Parliament ratified the treaty with 61 votes in favour and one abstention, the Macedonian Nova Television said. The MPs of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE were absent from the parliamentary sitting, the report said.

In an address to the Macedonian Parliament before the ratification, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov stressed the importance of the treaty.

In a statement the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said that the ratification confirms the will to foster good-neighbourly relations which are an important element of the European perspective of all countries in the Western Balkans.

Bulgaria will continue its active support for Macedonia's European integration. This is a strategic choice of Bulgaria also upheld in the priorities of its EU Presidency, the statement reads. The Treaty of Friendship, Goodneighbourliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and
Macedonia is underpinned by shared European values which make the region more unified and stronger.

The treaty was signed on August 1, 2017, by the two countries' prime ministers, Boyko Borissov and Zoran Zaev. The agreement was preceded by a five-year negotiation process of the working groups of the two countries' foreign ministries and builds on a treaty signed in 1990.