Israel, Macedonia agree to boost economic, energy ties

A visiting delegation from Macedonia met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen and Deputy Public Diplomacy Minister Michael Oren in Jerusalem on Monday.

The Macedonian delegation, headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, also included Deputy Prime Minister Kocho Angjushev, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski, Economic Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi and Agriculture Minister Ljupco Nikolovski.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, "The delegations discussed deepening economic and political cooperation between Israel and Macedonia, especially in the fields of energy, agriculture, startups and technology."

Netanyahu welcomed Zaev to Israel ahead of their meeting and called his visit to the country "a great moment in our relations."

Netanyahu joked that "it could have been a moment of crisis. We lost 0-1 to the Macedonian football team, and I understand you were at the game. Next time, maybe I'll come to the rematch," he said.

"We are both small nations, democratic nations," Netanyahu noted. He said the strong affinity between the two countries "was expressed most recently when we sent some firefighting planes to help extinguish forest fires, so we are friends in good weather, in weather, in stormy days, rainy days and days of fire.

"We're eager both to see a better future, we are here to talk about a range of fields where we can cooperate for the betterment of our peoples and our countries. We remember the tragedy also that befell the Jews of Macedonia 75 years ago, we know, we always remember that, and we are very, very pleased to have the opportunity to talk with you both about our bilateral relations." Netanyahu took the opportunity to thank Macedonia for "standing up for Israel in international forums. It's something that Macedonia has done and we appreciate it and hope we'll continue to do so."

Zaev told Netanyahu he hopes to cooperate with Israel "for security and for world peace." Zaev said that should his country be accepted as a NATO member, Macedonia would continue to cooperate with Israel on these issues from within the organization "because the threat of radicalism and extremism is really present here in this region against Israel, but also against my small country Macedonia" and the entire Western Balkans.

Zaev noted that following his official trip to Israel, security and defense cooperation between the two countries "would now be more intensive."

The Macedonian delegation "had a very good meeting with the business community," according to Zaev. "We saw the startups, the accelerators. We visited very important companies here in Israel." He said he hopes "to learn a lot" from the Israel high-tech sector so that his government would be able to create jobs for Macedonia's young people.

Zaev said he was "very happy" to be meeting with the Israeli delegation on what was one of his first overseas visits since entering office three months ago and invited Netanyahu to visit Macedonia.

Reflecting on his country's past, Zaev said, "Macedonia highly respects the cultural heritage of the Jewish people in our country. We remember the victims of the Holocaust with a message that it should never be repeated." Zaev said that since the opening of the memorial center for the Holocaust of the Jews of Macedonia in 2011, the country has actively worked "on fully repairing and rehabilitating the Jewish cemetery in Bitola" as well as constructing a memorial park. "This is something I want to stress here, especially because that is the honest approach from my citizens to the friendly citizens of Israel."

Netanyahu thanked Zaev for his words and agreed that "these are important projects commemorating the past, and without the past we have no future. We learn from the past to secure the future. "

The Macedonian delegation's meeting with Netanyahu follows a Sunday meeting with President Reuven Rivlin.

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