News
9/30/2022 06:59
The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs, Bojan Maricik, today held a meeting with the director of the European Investment Bank office in Skopje, Björn Gabriel, during which they discussed the current cooperation and the improvement of coordination, with a special focus on infrastructure and projects from the sphere of transport, energy and the environment, areas important for the sustainable development of North Macedonia and for the achievement of European standards and progress in reforms.
- The European Investment Bank is our traditional partner and supporter of projects that are of concrete importance for the development of the country and that contribute to the progress of the European integration process. Now, with the presence of the EIB in our country, it will further improve our communication and cooperation on large infrastructure projects, said Deputy Prime Minister Maricik.
At the meeting, Maricik and Gabriel emphasized that the cooperation between the EIB and the Secretariat for European Affairs will be even better coordinated in the future and will be of concrete benefit for the development of North Macedonia.
- We will work on improving investment management and applying for projects from the Investment Framework for the Western Balkans, as the main means of implementing our investment agenda. We are committed to the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan, as well as the commitments from the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the social and digital agenda, Maricik pointed out.
Maricik added at the meeting that as the National IPA coordinator he remains focused on the maximum harmonization of the funds of the regional infrastructure projects and the possibility of the EIB co-financing or financially supporting them.
In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister Maricik particularly emphasized the importance of the implementation of current projects, putting the spotlight on the construction of the third section of the railway corridor VIII between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, with an investment value of 404 million euros, as well as the construction of the gas inter connector North Macedonia - Greece.
The director of the office of the European Investment Bank in Skopje, Björn Gabriel emphasized at the meeting that our country is a reliable partner of the EIB, and is a good example of the efficient use of dedicated funds and added that the bank's support remains in achieving our goals and the European reform agenda.