Monday, 21 December 2020
MEETING OF PRESIDENT XHAFERI WITH SPEAKER ŞENTOP
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, today had a meeting with Mustafa Şentop, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey, who is paying a working visit to the Republic of North Macedonia with a group of MPs. Also, the Vice – Presidents of the Assembly, Goran Misovski and Fadil Zendeli, the Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with the Assembly of Turkey, Bejxhan Iljaz and the Secretary General, Cvetanka Ivanova participated in the meeting.
President Xhaferi expressed pleasure for the revisit of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which coincides with the marking of 21st December – the Turkish Language Day. He assessed that bilateral relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Turkey are at the highest level and are developing upwards, particularly at political, economic and cultural level, and the good and friendly relations between the two countries are also reflected in the fruitful parliamentary cooperation.
The President of the Assembly thanked on the continuous support that the Republic of North Macedonia receives from the Republic of Turkey, primarily in the area of defense, internal affairs and the membership in NATO. He informed on the recent development regarding the European integration, expressing hope that soon all differences will be overcome and will be found a way to open the path of North Macedonia for membership in the EU.
The Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Şentop underlined that the Republic of North Macedonia is of particular importance to the Republic of Turkey, emphasizing that Turkey has supported its every step at international level. He underlined that relations between Turkey and North Macedonia are gaining a new dimension after the membership of the country in the Alliance, where we continue to cooperate as allies. Turkey remains a strong supporter of the integration of the Republic of North Macedonia to the European Union.
Speaker Şentop referred to the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey with the South-East European Cooperation Process and informed on the upcoming parliamentary activities within the framework of the Turkish presidency. At the same time, he congratulated on the full membership of our country in the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
The Presidents of both Assemblies exchanged opinions on consequences, ways and measures to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the operation of the parliaments under special protective protocols. President Xhaferi welcomed the solidarity of Turkey in the fight against the pandemic and thanked for the received Turkish donations to help deal with the health crisis. 
Presidents Xhaferi and Şentop expressed satisfaction that the mutual trade did not decrease during the pandemic, which indicates that economic relations are based on a solid foundation. In the meeting was also discussed on the fight against terrorism and the support that parliaments provide to governments in this regard.
The interlocutors expressed commitment to further enhance and strengthen cooperation in all fields and hope for deepening the excellent inter-parliamentary relations.