During their meeting, President Burkhalter – who is also head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs – and President Ivanov paid tribute to the close bilateral relations enjoyed by their countries which exist in no small way thanks to a broad network of close personal relations. Around 90,000 people with Macedonian roots live in Switzerland today.
During their talks Mr Burkhalter underscored the long-standing support Switzerland has given Macedonia in its transition to a democracy with a sustainable market economy and as part of its rapprochement with the EU. Switzerland established diplomatic relations with Macedonia in 1994. For more than two decades it has been running bilateral cooperation projects there and contributing to regional and international programmes. Since 1996 Macedonia has been a priority country for Swiss cooperation with Eastern Europe. As part of its current cooperation strategy for 2013–2016, worth a total of CHF 85 million, Switzerland is concentrating its support on reform processes in the areas of decentralisation, the economy, water supply and environmental protection.
Another topic for discussion was the political situation in the Western Balkans, where Switzerland, within the framework of its current chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), advocates stable relations, reconciliation and cooperation as priorities. In this regard, Mr Burkhalter drew attention to positive developments in the region, emphasising that a commitment to the existing OSCE field operations to ensure long-term stability remained as crucial as ever.
Finally the two men discussed the evolution of the situation in Ukraine since the ceasefire agreement of 5 September 2014, acknowledging the important role played by the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). Mr Burkhalter thanked his Macedonian counterpart for the support his country had given to the SMM, stressing that the mission was constantly growing and hence relied on further support from the participating States in terms of personnel and material resources.
Further information:
Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Macedonia,SDC – Macedonia,Swiss OSCE Chairmanship in 2014
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