North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timco Mucunski, met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau as part of the second US-North Macedonia Strategic Dialogue in Washington, the Ministry reported on Wednesday.
Mucunski headed a government delegation that included Interior Minister Pance Toskovski, Defence Minister Vlado Misajlovski, Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski, and Energy Minister Sanja Bozinovska.
The meeting covered joint projects in energy, defence, and security, as well as current global challenges that are causing concern worldwide. The Foreign Ministry said that with this new session of the Strategic Dialogue, North Macedonia and the US are giving fresh impetus to further deepen and strengthen bilateral partnership, setting a clear roadmap for cooperation in the coming period. “Guided by the principles of mutual benefit, predictability, and long-term vision, as well as a shared commitment to broader regional prosperity, the talks between the two high-level delegations focused on defence and security, energy, economic cooperation, trade and investment, cultural cooperation, and issues of global and regional importance,” the Ministry added.
In an interview with TV Sitel, Mucunski added that he and Landau also exchanged views on the situation in the region and European integration.
As part of cooperation with the US, North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior will receive support of around USD 3.5 million, which will be directed toward border police, counter-terrorism, and transnational crime, the Ministry reported.
Interior Minister Pance Toskovski, as quoted by his Ministry, said that the joint steps taken so far, and those planned for the future, will strengthen security not only for North Macedonia’s citizens but also for all transit travelers, and for issues that could in any way impact US security. “Therefore, everything undertaken within the framework preceding the Strategic Dialogue gives me confidence it will yield excellent results in the future,” he added.
He noted that the Ministry places strong emphasis on strengthening border security, combating organized crime, illegal migration, and drug trafficking, as well as improving intelligence cooperation with partner services. In parallel, efforts are underway to enhance cybersecurity through technical support, training, and system modernization to better protect institutions and critical infrastructure.