Kosovo completes highway to Skopje late next year, Macedonia launches next year

Minister of the Ministry of Innovation and Undertaking Besim Beqaj has remained for official visits to Skopje, where there has been a series of important meetings.

The minister, Beqaj, has been hosted at a meeting by Macedonian Economy Minister Kreshnik Bektesh, with whom he has talked about bilateral co-operation in the area of economic development, trade exchanges between the two countries, joint assembly of the two governments, as well as the initiative for co-operation in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

After meeting with Minister Bekteshi, Minister Beqaj has said that Kosovo and Macedonia have good economic reports of advancing whose infrastructure plays a very important role. Minister Beqaj said he hopes Macedonia will move quickly towards the construction of the highway connecting the two countries, as the Kosovo side is moving quickly towards completing the highway to the border.

Kosovo is making a major investment that will help Macedonia as well and I hope Macedonia also has economic and political clarity to complete this path as soon as possible, because from the moment the road has gone in other directions, there have been negative effects on our trade exchanges”, said the minister Beqaj.

While Minister Bekteshi has stressed the need for deepening economic co-operation between the two countries.

<x0gt Beqaj, who heads the innovation and entrepreneurship resort, introduced the measures of our government's economic growth plan, which defines the main policy priorities for the next period and is expected to increase private investment, job creation, increased efficiency, productivity and competition of the private sector, increased exports and regional economic co-operation, as well as improving the welfare of citizens”, the minister Bechteshi said after the meeting.

The two ministers at the meeting have also discussed the joint meeting of the two governments and the possibility of initialising the agreement in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Minister Beqaj during his stay in Macedonia has also met with World Bank Director for Macedonia and Kosovo Marko Mantovanelli, with whom he has talked about the possibility of World Bank support for the Ministry of Innovation and Undertaking.

Minister Beqaj has also visited the Innovation Centre in Skopje, where it has been notified of its work, with the aim of taking on good operating practices, as well as the experience of sharing funds. Presenting the work of the Innovation Centre in Skopje, before Minister Beqaj has made the centre's director Jovan Despotovski.

On the other hand, Alsat reports that the Skopje-Blace highway, which is promised for years, will not start to build again this year as the trigger mentions the lack of road axis design. Building this three - mile - long [12 km] highway has been repeatedly promised by the past government V MRO-DUI, but besides promises, no activity has been launched on the ground yet. Albanian officials say the works could begin next year. As Macedonia continues to promise, the Kosovo side by the end of the year will inaugurate most of the highway, Pristina- Skopje.

“At yesterday's Government session, we have set deadlines until the Skopje-Blace highway is needed to be carried out because it is of particular importance to the Macedonian and Kosovo business community. This highway under all projections will begin to be built over the next six months”, said Kreshnik Bekteshi, minister of economy.