They also discussed the exceptionally important role of parliaments in the European integration of the countries, as well as the importance of having fair and democratic elections for the overall democratic development of the countries, having in mind the fact that both Macedonia and Albania are in a pre-election period - Macedonia will hold local election in April, and Albania parliamentary elections in June.

The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, Ms. Silvana Boneva, and the members of the Group attended the ceremony organized by the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Macedonia where the Macedonian visual artist and film director Kiro Urdin received the prestigious award from the International Animal and Nature Film Festival held in Ya’an, People’s Republic of China.

Ms. Liljana Popovska, Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and member of the Presidency of the Women Parliamentarians’ Club, is participating at the two-day regional workshop on “Strengthening parliamentary structures for women MPs in the OSCE region”, held in Vienna, Austria. Good practices for parliamentary bodies in promoting gender equality and advancing women’s interests in national legislatures were the focus of the workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), with support of the Austrian Parliament and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. More than 45 parliamentarians, experts and civil society representatives from the OSCE region are taking part in the workshop.

On request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Ana Pavlovska Daneva - Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Portuguese Republic, today had a meeting with Mr. Paulo Monteiro - editor and cultural activist from Portugal.

The Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia today had a meeting with Mr. Richard Howitt, Rapporteur of Macedonia at the European Parliament.

The Presidency of the Women Parliamentarians’ Club of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia today met with Mr. Jacopo Leone McDonald, expert on gender equality issues from ODIHR. The Macedonian women parliamentarians informed the guest about the work and activities of the Club and of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Assembly.

Mr. Hajrula Misini - Chairman of the Committee on European Issues and Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran met with Mr. Alireza Sabzali, Chargé d' Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Misini exchanged views with the Iranian Ambassador on the possibilities for development of the political, cultural and economic cooperation, as well as of the cooperation in the field of healthcare between the two countries

The Macedonian parliamentarian Igor Ivanovski is participating in the 24-member Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe led by Baroness Nicholson (United Kingdom) that will observe the parliamentary elections in Armenia, to be held on 6 May 2012.

The Women Parliamentarians Club and UN Women – the United Nations entity for promotion of gender equality, will hold a working meeting with the Austrian expert on gender responsive budgeting, Dr. Elisabeth Klatzer. The meeting will be held on 23 March 2012 from 10:00 to 13:00 in Best Western Hotel in Skopje

The Chairperson of the Committee on Relations among the Communities, Ms. Ermira Mehmeti, the Deputy Chairperson Ms. Marinela Tuševa, and the members of the Committee Ms. Silvana Boneva, and Mr. Gjorgi Kodzabašiev, yesterday met with Mr. Norbert Rütsche - First Secretary and Advisor for Regional Peace Building in the Embassy of Switzerland in Pristina, Republic of Kosovo, and Mr. Gregory Attila Connor - Peace and Development Specialist in the Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Macedonia.