With the aim of actively involving all stakeholders in improving the status of women, strengthening social cohesion, ensuring fair representation and interethnic trust, as well as economically empowering women through creating a favorable business climate and providing systemic support for the development and promotion of female entrepreneurship, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and Minister for Inter-Community Relations, Mr. Ivan Stoilkovic, and the President of the Association of Business Women, Ms. Valentina Disoska, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation today.

With the signing of the memorandum between the Ministry for Inter-Community Relations and the Association of Business Women, a framework for cooperation between the two parties is established, through the determination of principles, areas, and activities of mutual interest, with the aim of directly contributing to the implementation and advancement of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.

Through mutual cooperation, the parties will contribute to building relationships based on mutual respect, coexistence, and socio-economic connection between communities, with a special focus on connecting and empowering women from all communities. At the same time, this cooperation will further promote women’s rights and their socio-economic status in society.

The cooperation will be implemented in several areas of mutual interest, including interethnic networking through the creation of “economic bridges,” strengthening of border regions, development of business collaboration through culture, as well as fostering public dialogue.

The cooperation is envisaged to be carried out on the basis of mutual communication and initiatives, whereby the Ministry will act as the institutional sponsor of the collaborative activities, and the Association will regularly inform it of the activities undertaken. The Memorandum of Cooperation shall enter into force on the day of its signing.