Agriculture Minister Concludes Several Agreements with Macedonia
Slovenian Agriculture Minister Iztok Jarc concluded on Monday his three-day working visit to Macedonia. The aim of the visit was to boost cooperation in agriculture and Jarc signed several agreements with Macedonia.
According to Agriculture Ministry spokesman Jernej Kovac, the agreements will allow Slovenia to help Macedonia in institution-building and in tangible projects. Kovac said Slovenia would mainly be active in traceability of fruit and vegetables, milk and meat products.
The country will also help in drafting a Macedonian national rural development programme and take part in a pilot project on comprehensive development of villages according to the Leader methodology, he added.
In fisheries, Slovenia's vast experience in sweet-water fishes would be of great aid to Macedonia's programme of preserving the Ohrid trout.
The agreements also task Slovenia with aiding the southernmost country of the former Yugoslavia in joining European organisations, also through exchange of experience on agricultural diplomacy in the EU.
Jarc also agreed on cooperation in veterinary science, by aiding in a project of setting up small processing plants on farms.
Kovac added that Jarc furthermore invited Macedonian companies to attend the agriculture and food fair in Gornja Radgona in a bid to bolster trade.
Slovenia's main imports from Macedonia in the 2003-2006 period were garden vegetables, chocolate, wine and grape juice, while exports consisted mainly in poultry and other meat products and water. The amount of agricultural imports in 2006 stood at EUR 6.6m and of exports at EUR 14.6m.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|