Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikolovski during a working visit to France held a meeting this morning with the French Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, where they discussed enhancing mutual cooperation in the fields of railways, air transport, and highways.
Below is the full text of the joint statement by Deputy Prime Minister Nikolovski and French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot:
“Today we had an excellent meeting with the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the French Republic. It is a great honor for me and for the Macedonian government to be received at such a high level.
We have excellent cooperation which we will now further develop. We talked about cooperation that is already well developed in the field of air transport—both airports in Skopje and Ohrid are operated by a French company. We also discussed increasing cooperation in the fields of railways and highways.
Regarding the railways, I presented our plans for the development of corridors 10 and 8. Macedonia has a unique position where these two corridors intersect east of Skopje, and both need to be developed. Concerning corridor 8, which is of strategic importance for NATO, we discussed what can be done to complete the eastern part of the railway as well as develop the western part. Of course, we also want to connect with Italy, Albania, and Bulgaria and link the Ionian and Adriatic Seas with the Black Sea.
Regarding corridor 10, it is the most important trade corridor in the Balkans. We discussed what can be done to build a high-speed railway and thus connect the southern ports of Europe with Central and Middle Europe. There is great experience that we will utilize from France. France is a leader especially in railway transport, and we will work closely together.
Yesterday, we had a meeting with 11 major French companies who are welcomed to invest in Macedonia,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikolovski.
“I am pleased with the meeting I had this morning with the Minister. This was an important meeting regarding the relations between the two countries in the field of transport. Cooperation already exists in air transport with the company that manages the airports in your country, and this cooperation is excellent. Cooperation is also good in the field of civil aviation and is continuously improving.
The goal of today’s meeting is to cooperate on other projects, primarily in the field of railway transport, because there are French companies that are developed and advanced. We hope that the cooperation with your country will be not only economic but also friendly, aimed at establishing joint projects and sharing our experience from projects that were initiated a few years ago, then renewed, to help implement ambitious projects in your country, which is an unavoidable country in the Balkans.
Through you and this friendly meeting we had, we renew the desire for strong ties and stand ready to assist your country for enhanced, fast, and ambitious joint cooperation,” said Philippe Tabarot, Minister of Transport of France, after the meeting.