The Republic of Macedonia has been supporting Ukraine in its war with russia since the beginning of the conflict. The Balkan country has been providing Ukraine with military assistance, including the supply of weapons, ammunition and military equipment, which is an important contribution to Ukraine’s defence capabilities. The Government of North Macedonia has also expressed solidarity with Ukraine at the international level, supporting EU sanctions against russia and condemning its aggression. In addition, the country provides humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the war and supports international initiatives to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means.
In the framework of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in the Albanian capital of Tirana, Prime Minister Talat Jaferi signed a joint declaration of support for Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukriane with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The declaration reaffirms North Macedonia’s support for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and invitation to join NATO “when the conditions are right”. The parties also confirmed mutual support in the process of negotiations on Ukraine’s and North Macedonia’s accession to the European Union. In addition, the document condemns the full-scale aggression of russia against Ukraine and the war crimes committed by Russia, North Macedonia’s participation in the Ukrainian ‘peace formula’ and its interest in the future reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure.
North Macedonia, the second Balkan country after Romania, has completed the successful training of the first group of Ukrainian soldiers. The training was conducted at facilities owned by the Army of the Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, the Government of the country will train Ukrainian soldiers throughout 2024 and “as long as it is needed”.
North Macedonia is one of the TOP-4 NATO countries in terms of military assistance to Ukraine per capita. The small country has sent Ukraine about 30 T-72 tanks, 12 Mi 24 attack helicopters and four Su 25 attack aircraft, as well as ammunition and other equipment.
On 24 August 2024, on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine, representatives of the Macedonian Government, the Ukrainian community, the diplomatic corps and Macedonian friends marched in Skopje, together with representatives of the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian community, the diplomatic corps and Macedonian friends, in a symbolic “Chain of Unity”, with a 15-metre-long flag of Ukraine and Ukrainian symbols from the Taras Shevchenko monument to the ‘Ukrainian Alley’, located in the heart of the Macedonian capital. On the day of the national holiday, an exhibition of children’s drawings was opened at the Ukrainian Alley, created by children from the Nikopol district, which suffered from russian terror, who were on a rehabilitation holiday in North Macedonia at the time.
Investment cooperation between Ukraine and North Macedonia is based on an intensive bilateral dialogue, which was reinforced in March 1998 by the Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Macedonia. As of 01.01.2024, the volume of direct investments from FYR Macedonia in the Ukrainian economy amounted to $0.7 million, invested in enterprises in the processing industry, trade, as well as professional, scientific and technical activities.
The development of mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation also remains an important priority for both countries. Trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of North Macedonia is carried out within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement. In July 2023, the Annexes to the Free Trade Agreement came into force, updated to liberalise trade in agricultural products and incorporate the provisions of the Pan-Euro-Med Regional Convention on the Determination of Origin into the Agreement. Ukraine is an important trading partner for the Republic of North Macedonia. According to the results of 2023, Ukraine ranked 24th in terms of trade turnover among about 180 trading partners of the country. In addition, North Macedonia has now reached the 3rd place among commercial partners of Ukraine in the Balkan region.
Macedonia is also an important trading partner for Dnipropetrovsk region. The volume of goods exported from Dnipropetrovsk region was $7.04 million and remained at the level of 2022. The region’s share in all-Ukrainian exports to Macedonia is 15%. Macedonian companies are most interested in products made of ferrous metals and other non-precious metals, glass and glass products, electrical machinery, etc.
13 enterprises of Dnipropetrovsk region exported their products to the Macedonian market, including metallurgical, processing and machine-building companies.
The TOP-5 exporters by volume of exported products are the following:
Imports of goods from the Republic of Macedonia to Dnipropetrovsk region decreased by 21.5% compared to 2022 and amounted to $4.4 million.
21 importing companies of the region purchase the most following Macedonian goods: medicines, vegetables, edible fruits and nuts, machinery and equipment, and other.
The following importers were among the TOP-5 by volume of imported products:
Imports were mainly carried out by pharmaceutical, trade, food and processing companies.
Source: information for this article was taken from open online sources
