Blanar to Travel to North Macedonia to Convey Support for Its EU Accession

Bratislava, 28 October (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) will travel to Skopje, North Macedonia, on Thursday (29 October) to strengthen bilateral relations and express Slovakia's support for the country's integration into the EU, the ministry's communications department told TASR on Wednesday, adding that this will be the first official working trip by a Slovak foreign minister to North Macedonia since 2014. "Slovakia continues to actively support the European integration of Western Balkan countries, and we're also ready to share our experience of the accession process with North Macedonia. In addition to mutual political dialogue, which is at a very good level, we also want to advance economic cooperation which, in our opinion, still holds significant untapped potential," stressed Blanar. During his visit, Blanar is due to hold bilateral talks with his counterpart Timco Mucunski and will also meet with President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and Parliamentary Speaker Afrim Gashi. In addition to discussing bilateral and economic relations and North Macedonia's European prospects, the talks will also revolve around developments in the Western Balkans, security in Europe, illegal migration and transatlantic relations. As part of his itinerary, Blanar will also pay tribute to Slovak soldier Lubomir Orsag, who was killed in the city of Tetovo in North Macedonia during an armed civil conflict in July 2001. jrg