Twenty-three municipalities in Macedonia will receive one school bus each from the Chinese donation to Macedonia, after Vice Premier for European Affairs and National Foreign Assistance Coordinator, Teuta Arifi and Association of Local Self-Government Units (ZELS) president Koce Trajanovski signed the agreements on Friday.

The buses are intended for transport of students in primary and secondary schools, primarily in rural environments. The buses are manufactured by "Yutong", the Chinese company that produced the double-decker buses for Skopje's public transport.

"Education and investment in young generations is the Government's top priority, and a mission that we implement together with our partners and friends", stressed Vice Premier Arifi.

According to her, such projects demonstrate the Government's focus on specific results, as well as the open cooperation between the central and local authorities.

Trajanovski said the Chinese donation came at the right time, when many municipalities lack funds for covering of travel costs for pupils.

"ZELS and the Ministry of Education and Science have invested efforts in finding adequate solutions for this challenge. That is why these 23 school buses and their distribution in the most critical regions represents a step forward", added the ZELS president.

The yellow buses have 35 seats, meeting all required criteria - protective automatic doors, fire extinguisher and safety belt for every seat.

The project is implemented by the China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Cooperation, in cooperation with Macedonia's Secretariat for European Affairs and the Skopje-based Embassy of PR China.