Agreement on friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation between Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Agreement on friendship, good neighborhood and cooperation between Macedonia and Bulgaria.
NEWS: Parliament voted a draft law on the ratification of the Agreement on friendship, good neighborhood, and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria. 61 were the deputies who voted in favor, with only one abstention. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov has not hidden that difficult and delicates issues between the two countries cannot be easily negotiated so much that neither Macedonia nor Bulgaria are fully satisfied by the text of the treaty. “The Treaty covers our interests in Bulgaria. This is a symbolic day because Bulgaria has recognized Macedonia’s independence, being the first nation to do so. It is pivotal that before the agreement’s ratification in practice we are seeing a substantial shift in our relations”, stated the Minister. Dimitrov emphasized the importance of the treaty as the two sides were encouraged to leave the trenches and make society safer. The friendship treaty was signed on 1 August 2017 by the premier of the two countries Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borissov. The agreement aims to strengthen the friendly relations of the countries by promoting good neighborly bonds, establishing reciprocal relations in accordance with international law. The friendship treaty between Macedonia and Bulgaria, as reported by MIA, is the result of a negotiation process that has lasted for five years by the working groups of the foreign ministries of the two countries, and is considered an update of the 1990 agreement.