Tuesday, 15 September 2020
MEETING BETWEEN PRESIDENT XHAFERI AND H.E. SYBILLE SUTER TEJADA
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, met today with the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Skopje, H.E. Sybille Suter Tejada.
At the meeting, President Xhaferi stressed that he highly appreciates the cooperation and political relations between the two countries, which are characterized by friendship and understanding, open and intensive dialogue. Furthermore, the continued support that the Swiss Confederation provides in the European integration process is highly valued, even though it is not a member of NATO and EU. He also welcomed the Swiss scholarship program for professional development of the employees in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia with the open competition for enrollment in the second and third cycle of studies, for those who are interested in additional professional development. The President stressed that the Assembly, in this term, too, will continue to accelerate the achievement of the strategic interests of the country, in terms of good neighbourly policy, development of cooperation in the region, the obligations arising from the NATO membership and the EU integration process.
Ambassador Tejada congratulated President Xhaferi on his re-election as President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and stressed that the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Skopje will continue to cooperate with the legislature in the implementation of the ongoing and the new projects. President Xhaferi received an open offer from the Swiss Ambassador to be part of the Advisory Board of the new Project between the two countries – "Electoral Reforms in the Republic of North Macedonia". This project, in addition to contributing to the stability of the electoral process in our country, also strengthens the credibility of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia.
President Xhaferi and Ambassador Tejada exchanged views on the priorities of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia in the coming period, such as the need to adopt reform laws in anticipation of the intergovernmental conference for the start of EU membership negotiations. The necessity of enabling alternative functioning of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia in a state of pandemic or other unpredictable situations, was also discussed at the meeting. The interlocutors stressed the fruitful cooperation between the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Swiss Embassy, aimed at strengthening parliamentary independence, the oversight and democratic role, and expressed readiness to continue and deepen cooperation in this area.