site.btaTurkish Foreign Minister to Pay Visit to North Macedonia

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is leaving for an official visit to the Republic of North Macedonia Thursday, reported CNN Turk.

During the visit, he will meet with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, the Speaker of Parliament, as well as the Foreign Minister.

Minister Fidan is also expected to hold talks with members of the North Macedonia's Parliament of Turkish origin, leaders of Albanian political parties and members of the Turkish community in the country.

Bilateral relations and regional issues will be discussed during Fidan's meetings in Skopje.

Security issues will also be discussed, including the fight against the FETO group (the Fethullahist terrorist organisation which Turkish authorities believe was behind the 2016 coup attempt).

On the agenda will be issues related to strengthening economic relations, strengthening relations in the military and defence industries, increasing investment in various sectors such as construction, energy and infrastructure.

According to the latest census, there are around 83,500 ethnic Turks living in North Macedonia. This represents approximately 4% of the total population. The right of Turks to education in their mother tongue and the creation of public employment proportional to the size of the population are among the priority issues for Turkiye, according to CNN Turk.