New Delhi, 21 July (H.S.): President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said that economic cooperation is one of the most important pillars of bilateral relations between India and North Macedonia. The two countries have agreed to work together to enhance trade and investment, strengthen business partnerships and double bilateral trade.

During her state visit to North Macedonia, President Murmu made the remarks in a joint statement after holding bilateral and delegation-level talks with her North Macedonian counterpart Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

The President said that both sides held detailed discussions on expanding cooperation in key sectors, including information technology, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, biotechnology, tourism, hospitality and film production. She added that the India-North Macedonia Business Forum would serve as an important platform to create new opportunities in these areas.

President Murmu said that the bilateral agreement in the healthcare sector is being renewed, while both countries have also agreed to further strengthen cooperation in healthcare, including traditional medicine systems. She emphasised that cultural ties and people-to-people exchanges form the strong foundation of relations between the two nations. Cooperation in the creative industries, she said, would become an important medium for cultural exchange.

The President highlighted that India is promoting global cooperation through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA). She welcomed North Macedonia’s interest in joining these initiatives, stating that participation would help the country benefit from global expertise and technological knowledge in areas such as green energy and disaster management.

President Murmu announced that the number of training slots available to North Macedonia under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme would be doubled. She said that the training programmes would also include courses related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The President noted that this was the first state visit by an Indian President to North Macedonia and expressed confidence that it would provide fresh momentum to the multifaceted partnership between the two countries.

She also informed that during the visit, both Presidents would jointly unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Skopje Museum, describing it as a symbol of the shared democratic values and friendly relations between India and North Macedonia.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar