Deputy PM in charge of EU affairs, Fatmir Besimi held Friday separate talks with Deirdre Boyd, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Macedonia, and Tatiana Proskoruiakova - the new Director of the World Bank Office in Macedonia.

During the meeting with Boyd, an emphasis was put on the readiness for continuing and extending the excellent cooperation between the Government and the UNDP. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasised that the country was now at a crucial stage on the road towards its strategic goals - EU and NATO membership. "UNDP's support in this process, especially the support to the High Level Accession Dialogue, is of a great importance for the Republic of Macedonia," he stated.

Besimi also pointed out the significance of the support provided by the UNDP to the Secretariat for European Affairs (SEA) through the project "Capacity Building for Aid Coordination" which supports the Government in assistance coordination and the establishment of a programme-based approach which is a basis for programming the new EU - IPA perspective for the period 2014-2020. Furthermore, they discussed the new opportunities for cooperation.

Deirdre Boyd said that UNDP focused on contributing to and supplementing the national efforts in meeting national priorities and the Action Plan for EU integration, especially in the areas under UN competences.

During the meeting with the Director of the World Bank Office in Macedonia, Tatiana Proskoruiakova, the importance of making progress in the EU integration process was emphasised.