The two nations agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of healthcare, particularly for promotion of traditional systems of medicine.
SKOPJE — India and North Macedonia on Tuesday agreed to double bilateral trade and discussed cooperation in key sectors including tourism, hospitality and filmmaking.
The cooperation was discussed during a meeting between President Droupadi Murmu, who is on a historic two-day visit of North Macedonia — first by any Indian head of state, and her counterpart Gordana Sijanovska-Davkova, which was followed by fruitful delegation-level talks.
Economic cooperation is an extremely important pillar of our bilateral relationship and the two countries agreed to promote greater trade and investment and encourage closer cooperation between our businesses, Murmu said.
“We also agreed to double our bilateral trade. We discussed cooperation in key sectors, including IT/ITES, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textile and bio-tech, tourism, hospitality, and filmmaking,” she said.
Asserting that culture and people-to-people ties have always been among the strongest pillars of our relationship, Murmu said that collaboration in the field of the creative industry is an important aspect of cultural exchanges.
“We discussed the full range of bilateral cooperation, and also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. We reaffirmed the deep and friendly ties between India and North Macedonia, grounded in shared democratic values and mutual respect,” the President said in a statement.
The two nations agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of healthcare, particularly for promotion of traditional systems of medicine, she said.
Murmu said that India seeks to foster international cooperation through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Global Biofuels Alliance and she welcomes "North Macedonia’s intent to join these initiatives”.
The President also announced India’s decision to double the number of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training slots for North Macedonia, which will also include courses in Artificial Intelligence.
Murmu said that she is confident that her visit will further consolidate the multifaceted partnership between India and North Macedonia and take it to new heights in the years ahead.
Earlier in the day, she was received by President Sijanovska-Davkova and accorded a ceremonial welcome and guard of honour here.
The President arrived here on Monday night for a two-day visit beginning on Tuesday after successfully concluding her historic visit to Moldova, the first ever by any Indian President.
Murmu was warmly welcomed by Timcho Mucunski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, North Macedonia, at the airport upon her arrival.