Estonia and Macedonia*

Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 2 March 1995. The first Macedonian ambassador to Estonia Tihomir Ilievski, residing in Stockholm, presented his credentials on 21 September 1995. In 2007 Macedonia officially opened a diplomatic representation in Tallinn, which became an embassy in 2010.  The Macedonian ambassador to Estonia is Sašo Veljanovski, who presented credentials to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on 15 February 2013. The first Estonian ambassador to Macedonia was Aivo Orav, who resided in Ankara, Turkey. Estonia’s current ambassador Macedonia, residing in Tallinn, is Arti Hilpus, who presented his credentials to the president of Macedonia on 10 September 2012.

The Estonia honorary consul to Macedonia is Saško Miladinov. The Estonian Honorary Consulate in the town of Štip was formally opened during Foreign Minister Urmas Paet’s visit on 19 November 2008. Macedonia’s honorary consul in Estonia is Peter Roose. The Macedonian Honorary Consulate, situated in Tartu, was opened during the visit of Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki in February 2012.

Visits

Regular political consultations have taken place between the foreign ministries of the two countries. Many official visits have also taken place.

Interparliamentary co-operation

An Estonia-Macedonia parliamentary group was formed in the XII Riigikogu. The chairman of the group is Margus Hanson. The Estonian friendship group created in the Macedonian Parliament at the beginning of 2007 is chaired by Liljana Popovska.
The members of the Estonia-Macedonia parliamentary group visited Macedonia from 3-6 October 2007. Meetings were primarily held with Macedonian Parliament members and officials, as well as with the foreign ministry secretary general and the minister for IT matters.
 

Agreements

The following agreements have been concluded between Estonia and Macedonia:

• Agreement on International Road Transport of Passengers and Goods between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Macedonia, signed 30.05.2000 (came info effect 22 August 2000)
• Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Tax Evasion (signed 20 November 2008, came into effect 21 May 2009)
• Agreement on the Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information (signed 20 November 2008, came into effect 1 June 2009)
• Implementation Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia on the Readmission on Illegally Residing Individuals Agreement between the European Community and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (signed 23 April 2010, came into effect 23 July 2010)

Economic Relations

Economic relations between Estonia and Macedonia are modest, but have seen growth over the past few years.

In 2011  more goods were exported to Macedonia than in the previous five years combined. Import also gained momentum. Compared with 2010, turnover more than tripled. In 2012 Macedonia was Estonia’s 111^th trade partner – 120^th place among export partners and 81^st place among import partners. Primary articles of export were foodstuffs, mineral products, and wood products. Imports were primarily ferrous metals and foodstuffs (vegetables and fruits).

In order to develop economic co-operation, Minister for Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts visited Macedonia at the beginning of October 2012 along with a business delegation. A Macedonia-Estonia business forum was organised in order to help create connections between businesses in both countries.

Estonian-Macedonian trade 2008-2012 (in thousands EUR)

All economic figures originate from the Statistical Office of Estonia

Defence co-operation

Defence co-operation between Estonia and Macedonia began in 2004 and has been fairly regular.
Many Macedonian soldiers have studied in Estonia. From 2004-2007, Estonia sponsored the studies of three Macedonian soldiers at the Baltic Defence College. During the 2007-2008 academic year, a representative of Macedonia took part in the Joint Command and General Staff Course and in 2009 in the Army Intermediate Command and Staff Course.

• Estonia took part in the EU’s military mission Concordia from 31.03.2003 – 15.12.2003 with one staff officer.
• Estonia took part in the EU Police Mission Proxima from 15.12.2003 - 14.12.2005 with 1 staff officer.

Development co-operation

Over the years Estonia has supported Macedonia in implementing many projects. These have primarily been geared towards developing Macedonia’s e-government.
Projects that have taken place over the last few years:

• From 11-16.05.2008, the e-Governance Academy organised a training course in Tallinn for Macedonian state officials on the usage of information technology and the division of labour among the Estonian Land Board and the other establishments in its jurisdiction.
• From 2-3.06.2008 an expert of the Estonian Land Board consulted for Macedonia on-site.
• From 19.-22.10.2008 a representative of AS Cybernetica visited Macedonia and consulted with IT Minister Ivo Ivanovski on X-Road matters.
• From May-October 2010 a project was carried out in Macedonia to share Estonia’s experiences with establishing an electronic identity system.
• Estonia supported Macedonia by providing a scholarship for a diplomat from Macedonia to attend the Estonian School of Diplomacy during the 2011/2012 academic year.
• In April 2012 a group from Macedonia came to Estonia for a study trip, which was funded by resources from the European Union TAIEX programme. During the trip, Estonia shared its experiences with implementing international sanctions.

Culture

On 16 June 2009, Estonian Ambassador to Macedonia Aivo Orav and Honorary Consul Saško Miladinov opened a photo exhibit about the Estonian island of Kihnu in Stip. During 2009 the exhibit was displayed in various locations around Macedonia. On 14 October President Toomas Hendrik Ilves opened the same exhibit in the capital Skopje.

At the beginning of 2010 the secretary general of the Macedonian Ministry of Culture visited Estonia and met with representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Tallinn 2011 project.

In August 2011 Estonian archaeologists visited Macedonia at the invitation of the Stip Museum and became acquainted with excavations in the area.

From 4-5 November 2011 Macedonian Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kancheska-Milevska visited Estonia. On 4 November she met with Minister of Culture Rein Lang. During the events of the Macedonia Week organised within the framework of Tallinn Capital of Culture 2011, visitors were introduced to Macedonian handicrafts, embroidery, national garments, contemporary art, and folk dances and songs. Minister of Culture Lang paid a reciprocal visit to Macedonia in June 2012. During his visit he saw museums in Skopje, visited the town of Ohrid, and met with the minister of culture and the directors of cultural institutions.

Estonia and Macedonia have also co-operated in the area of librarianship in the past few years. For example, the late-19th century work by Slavonic scholar Gotthilf Leonhard Masing on the definition of Slavic languages was found from the Tartu Uinversity Library and digitalised. Thanks to the co-operation of the Macedonian representation in Estonia and Tartu University, the digital copies of the work were given to be stored at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences, the library of the state university, and the Macedonian Language Institute. Macedonia has acknowledged this act by giving the Tartu University library works on Macedonian language, history, and culture. Now one can also find Macedonian magazines on the shelves of Estonian libraries for the first time ever.

Macedonian films have been screened during the Black Nights Film Festival.

* Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

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