President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday held wide-ranging bilateral talks with North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, with both sides agreeing to strengthen cooperation across key sectors, expand trade and investment, and deepen people-to-people ties during the first-ever State visit by an Indian President to the country.
President Murmu arrived in Skopje on Monday evening as part of the second leg of her three-nation State visit to Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania. She was received at Skopje International Airport by North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timcho Mucunski. She is accompanied by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, and Members of Parliament Dr. Dinesh Sharma and Vijay Baghel.
The President began her official engagements with a visit to Villa Vodno, the official residence of the President of North Macedonia, where she was accorded a ceremonial welcome and guard of honour. During one-to-one discussions and delegation-level talks with President Siljanovska-Davkova, the two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Both leaders reaffirmed the strong and friendly relationship between the two countries, built on shared democratic values and mutual respect, while expressing their commitment to taking bilateral cooperation to a higher level.
Addressing the media after the talks, President Murmu described economic cooperation as an “extremely important pillar” of India-North Macedonia relations. She said both countries had agreed to promote greater trade and investment, encourage stronger business-to-business engagement, and work towards doubling bilateral trade.
The discussions focused on expanding collaboration in sectors including information technology and IT-enabled services, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, biotechnology, tourism, hospitality and filmmaking. President Murmu noted that the India-North Macedonia Business Forum being held during the visit would provide an important platform to strengthen commercial partnerships.
The two countries also agreed to renew their Memorandum of Understanding on healthcare cooperation and enhance collaboration in the promotion of traditional systems of medicine.
Highlighting the importance of cultural diplomacy, President Murmu said cultural and people-to-people exchanges remain among the strongest pillars of the bilateral relationship. She identified cooperation in the creative industries as an important avenue for expanding cultural engagement between the two nations.
The President also underlined India’s commitment to global cooperation through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance. She welcomed North Macedonia’s intention to join these initiatives, saying participation would enable the country to benefit from global best practices and technical expertise in renewable energy and disaster resilience.
In a significant announcement, President Murmu said India would double the number of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training slots offered to North Macedonia. The expanded programme will also include specialised courses in Artificial Intelligence, aimed at strengthening capacity-building and skill development.
During her visit, President Murmu is scheduled to jointly unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Museum of Skopje along with President Siljanovska-Davkova. Describing the statue as a gift from the people of India to the people of North Macedonia, she said it symbolises the shared values and principles that unite the two countries.
Expressing confidence in the future of bilateral ties, President Murmu said her historic visit would open a new chapter in India-North Macedonia relations and further consolidate the multifaceted partnership between the two countries in the years ahead.
