Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 16 Feb 2000

Vol. 514 No. 4

Written Answers. - Ministerial Meetings.

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Ceist:

45 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his meeting on 20 January 2000 with the Macedonian Foreign Minister; and if he will press the EU to provide additional assistance for Macedonia. [4315/00]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

My predecessor, Deputy Andrews, visited the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 19 and 20 January. During his visit Deputy Andrews had a meeting with the Macedonian Foreign Minister Aleksandar Dimitrov and paid courtesy calls on the Prime Minister, the Vice-President of the National Assembly and the President. The visit by Deputy Andrews was the first official visit by an Irish Foreign Minister to FYROM.

The visit took place at the end of an extensive visit by Deputy Andrews to the region and provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on developments in the Balkans generally, including in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina and progress in the implementation of the stability pact. They also discussed enhancement of bilateral relations particularly in the economic area and the overall relationship between the EU and FYROM. Deputy Andrews also raised with his counterpart Ireland's candidacy for the UN Security Council and was gratified by the public statement of support for our candidacy made to the press following the meeting by Mr. Dimitrov.

The major issue of concern to the Macedonian side at the time of the visit was agreement in Brussels on the mandate for the negotiation of a stability and association agreement between the EU and Macedonia. This was raised by all four interlocutors and the Minister assured his hosts of Ireland's support for Macedonia. I am pleased to be able to report that the mandate was subsequently agreed at the General Affairs Council on 24 January and Deputy Andrews phoned Foreign Minister Dimitrov to convey this information to him. This will be the first such agreement to be concluded with a former Yugoslav state and will provide the basis for a programme of assistance from the EU to Macedonia.

Deputy Andrew's Macedonian counterparts particularly emphasised the economic impact which the war in Kosovo and the continuing instability in the region generally is having on FYROM. The war and its aftermath was estimated to have damaged the Macedonian economy to the extent of $650 million. They were disappointed at the response of the international community to date in spite of the many promises made during the Kosovo war. They expressed concern at the delays as they saw it in the implementation of the stability pact and sought Ireland's support for urgent progress to be made in the next round of meetings of the stability pact being held this month.

The Macedonian side expressed considerable interest in learning from Ireland's experience of economic development. They were interested in attracting foreign investment to their country, including from Ireland. Reviewing bilateral relations, it was noted that while the overall balance of trade was in Ireland's favour, total trade was at such a low level as to be insignificant. They proposed the negotiation of an investment protection agreement and a double taxation agreement with Ireland and this proposal is now being examined at official level. The possibility of sending a number of civil servants from FYROM to Ireland for training in the economic area was mentioned and this will be followed up by the Macedonian ambassador in London.

Both sides agreed that there should be an intensification of relations between our two countries and in this context, Deputy Andrews invited his counterpart to visit Ireland at an early date. At the meeting with the Vice-President of the National Assembly, the possibility of an exchange of visits by parliamentary delegations was mentioned and this is a proposal I would encourage the Oireachtas to consider. The possibility of visits by the Prime Minister and President of Macedonia in due course was also mentioned.

Macedonia is a beacon of light in the Balkan region. It is the only republic to successfully detach itself from the former Yugoslavia without bloodshed. In that sense it provides a positive example to its neighbours and is in my view deserving of the full support from the international community.