The Macedonian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski ended its official visit to the Republic of China yesterday, following the visit to Hsinan, the capital of the Shan Si province. From today, the Macedonian delegation is on an official visit to Japan.
At the end of the official visit to China, the Macedonian minister informed the press about the meetings with the highest Chinese officials, who clearly emphasized their recognition of the peace-loving policy of the Republic of Macedonia and its efforts to maintain equally good relations with all neighboring states.
Crvenkovski informed about the three state agreements signed during his stay in Beijing - on cooperation in the field of foreign politics, economy and culture, which he said, present a sound basis for the advancement of the bilateral relations. He added that authorities in both countries are reviewing the project for the building of two hydro-electric power plants in Macedonia.
Yesterday, diplomatic relations were established between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Macedonia, with the exchange of notes between the permanent UN representatives of the two countries, Denko Maleski and Arustanbekova.
The President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov received on Friday the delegation of the two houses of the British Parliament, led by Baroness David. The British parliamentarians, accompanied by the ambassador of Great Britain to the Republic of Macedonia Tony Milson, were interested in a number of questions from the internal sphere, foreign politics, as well as the situation in the region.
President Gligorov stressed the significance of the inter-parliamentary cooperation for the advancement of the overall relations and mutual recognition and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and Great Britain.
Gligorov expressed gratitude for Britain's support of the independent development of the Republic of Macedonia, as another step forward in the traditionally good Macedonian-British relations.
The representatives of the Socialist party of Macedonia Jovan Pejkovski and Mihail Levenski took part, last week, in the Forum of the left-wing forces on the Balkans, which was held in Athens. Representatives from 15 countries participated in this gathering. The Macedonian representatives in Greece emphasized that the new countries on the Balkans are a reality and that their mutual connection should be stimulated, which implies the riddance of any kind of barriers and economic blockades.
The gathering adopted a document urging for the end of the war in Bosnia and recommending that peace be achieved on the basis of the permanency of the present borders.
A convoy of 15 busses, carrying 720 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovnia, who have been staying in Macedonia until now, left Skopje on Friday morning, at around 3.00 hours for Bosnia and Herzegovina, via Albania.
This action, organized by the humanitarian organization "El Hilal," and sponsored by the Vienna based Third World Relief organization (TWRA), was being prepared five months.
The refugees arrived in Split on Saturday, and are still traveling through Bosnia, on their way to Sarajevo.
Otherwise, this action is entirely voluntary and in cooperation with the Macedonian Government.
Macedonia is dismissing the Greek allegations that drugs are being manufactured in the country, involving two influential Macedonian firms, which is master-minded by the "Albanian mafia."
The manager of the National bureau for cooperation with Interpol, with the Macedonian Interior Ministry, Ratko Jonchevski, stated: "As till this moment, the Macedonian National bureau for cooperation with Interpol has not been informed by any agency or bureau that drugs are being manufactured in Macedonia, especially with specifically determined locations and actors. Therefore, these allegations from official Greek circles are pure misinformation aimed at discrediting Macedonia in the international public.
"Furthermore, it is crazy to claim that the Albanian mafia is based in certain hotels in Skopje, and that they are the leaders in the transportation of the drugs. Isn't it absurd that we manufacture the drugs, then we give it to the Albanians to sell, and use the money to buy guns in order to fight against Macedonia and its independence."
"University - yes, violence - no," "We want a university - not weapons," "You can't build democracy by putting Albanians in prison," are some of the slogans from the peace protest held Thursday in Debar, under the motto "For the university, against violence."
The meeting was organized by the Association of Albanian women and Albanian teachers "Naim Fraseri," and more than 1,000 citizens, predominantly educational workers and students from the Debar high school, turned up. The congregation was addressed by the president of the Association, Hauseri Hadziredza, who stressed that the meeting was being held on the square of the Albanian national hero Skender beg.
She said: "We are an autochthonous nation in these regions and history, as well as all Macedonian historians, know that all too well, but sadly, the history of this young country is written in black letters."
Without delving into political motives, the propaganda anti-Macedonian aims intended for abroad, and the euphoria of the Meeting of the women, children and men from the Albanian nationality, which was held in Debar on June 1, this year, the president of the Association of ethnologists of Macedonia assesses that the organizers of the protest meeting, consciously falsified and glorified the historical past of the Albanian nationality in Macedonia. This is said in the announcement of the Association of ethnologists of Macedonia.
"Otherwise, it is no scientific truth that the Albanians in Macedonia are an autochthonous population. Debar has never been an Albanian town, nor has its square ever bore the name of an Albanian hero," the announcement says.
"What was said at the square signifies the resurrection of the fascist aspirations from the Second World War. The famous hero Skender beg unifies all the Christians against the islamization and crimes of the Ottoman Turks on a religious, and not on a national basis."
The presidency of the Association also assesses that recently, the political parties, various associations and unions of the Albanians, coordinated by the axis Tirana-Tetovo- Prishtina, openly express their negation of the Macedonian state, Constitution and laws, with aspirations for a Great Albania. Their actions ultimately endanger the lives of the non-Albanians and the Macedonian ethnic territory.
The student association from Albania "Dardanija" announced that the action "gathering books for the Tetovo university library," is progressing well and that around 3,000 books in a number of languages have been collected in a matter of two weeks.
Otherwise, the association "Dardanija" is a group made up of students from Kosovo and Macedonia, studying at the university in Tirana. Their action is followed with great publicity in Albania, and the association is appealing to every family to contribute one book from their home libraries.
By the end of the first quarter of this year, investors from the Republic of Macedonia reported 338 in the Institute for Payment Operations, which are in a phase of construction, which is 4 objects less in comparison with the same period last year or 12 objects less compared to the same period last year.
On the other hand, the estimated value of the investments is far greater than before, and that is owed, mainly, to the fact that a the construction of a couple of capital objects started recently. Namely, the railroad track Kumanovo- Beljakovce and the hydro-electric power plant "Kozjak," whereby the estimated value of these two objects alone is 9.6 billion denars (US$ 257.6 million) or half the value of all current investments - 18,967 billion denars (US$ 508.9 million).
The track from Kumanovo to Beljakovce costs 5.4 billion denars (US$ 144.9 million), the HEP "Kozjak" costs 4 billion denars (US$ 107.3 million), the gas line, whose investor is "Makpetrol," costs 2 billion denars (US$ 53.7 million), whereby 55% of the investments have already been paid.
The investments in the dam and adjunct objects of the hydro-system "Lisiche," which started with construction in 1993, and which costs 202 million denars (US$ 5.42 million), the ----- "Jug Nova," which is worth 239 million denars (US$ 6.41 million), (the object is 68% finished, and the construction started last year), then, the local PTT network Strumica, a Macedonian PTT investment, which costs 140 million denars (US$ 3.76 million), reconstruction of the fourth furnace of "Jugohrom," at the cost of 160 million denars (US$ 4.3 million), etc.
In addition, there's also the construction of the freeway Tetovo-Gostivar, valued at 764 million denars (US$ 20.5 million). Half of the money has been paid, and the investor is the Republic road authority. The same investor has also paid 508 million denars (US$ 13.6 million) for the construction of the hippodrome "Miladinovci," which is 66% complete.
An expensive investment has also been finished, such as the construction of the surgical clinic in Skopje, to the value of 310 million denars (US$ 8.32 million), which is 61% finished. The dam "Kalimanci" is also in a phase of completion, which has an estimated value of 290 million denars (US$ 7.78 million) and which was started in 1993.
The majority reported investment objects started being built this year or last year, while in the first quarter of this year, the construction of three objects was stopped, worth 150 million denars (US$ 4 million).
As for the final use of the investments, most of them are economic objects - 96.5%. From the aspect of the funds that went into the investments, most of the money went to investments in the field of traffic and relations - 8.5 billion denars (US$ 228 million), in industry - 5.6 billion denars (US$ 150.3 million) and trade - 2.2 billion denars (US$ 59 million).
In the past 5 months of this year, the fur industry from Veles realized 2.3 million DM from the export of fur car-seat covers and furs for different use. The Veles furs are mostly sold in Austria, Germany, U.S.A., Sweden, and other countries. By the end of the year, exports are expected to reach 6 million DM.
Delegations of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry and the Federal office for foreign economic affairs of the Swiss Confederation met in Bern yesterday to coordinate the text of the agreement for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two delegations also discussed the concrete realization of the Swiss irretrievable help for Macedonia, of CHF 8 million, is said in the announcement of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry. (end)