Tuesday, 26 May 2009
PRESIDENT OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, MR. TRAJKO VELJANOSKI RECEIVED A DELEGATION OF THE MACEDONIA FRIENDSHIP GROUP IN THE FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
President of the Assembly, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski received the Members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for the Republic of Macedonia in the French National Assembly, led by the Group Chairman, Mr. Philippe Duron.
The President of the Assembly welcomed the visit and the strengthened high-level cooperation during the last months between France and Macedonia. In that sense he mentioned his recent meeting with his counterpart, the President of the French National Assembly, Mr. Bernard Accoyer, and the French Senator, Mr. Robert Badinter, as well as the latest meeting of the Prime Minister, Mr. Nikola Gruevski with the French President Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy. Similarly, Macedonian parliamentary delegations were recently hosted by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the French Parliamentary TV Channel.
The intensified cooperation with France - a country with great political influence, permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of the founding members of the EU - is highly important for the Republic of Macedonia, said President Veljanoski. He emphasised that the country has been pursuing the European Agenda and that in 2009 Macedonia expects visa liberalisation for its citizens and date for starting accession negotiations. President Veljanoski underlined the unwavering support among the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia for NATO membership, despite the failure to get invited at the Bucharest Summit, as well as the participation of the Macedonian soldiers in the NATO peace mission.
The Chairman of the Friendship Group, Mr. Duron expressed satisfaction from the visit to the Republic of Macedonia and the meetings with Macedonian MPs in a number of cities around the country. He stressed the importance of the cooperation at the regional and local level and the establishment of close links between the municipalities in France and Macedonia. He informed President Veljanoski on the topical issues discussed with Macedonian MPs and thanked him on the thorough introduction on the accomplishments of the Republic of Macedonia on the path to its Euro-Atlantic integration. During the heartfelt talks, Members of the Group, Ms. Catherine Quere and Ms. Arlette Grosskost were particularly interested in agriculture, environment, sustainable economic growth and investment, and announced appropriate efforts and cooperation in the mentioned areas.