President Droupadi Murmu announced a doubling of Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training slots for North Macedonia during talks in Skopje on 21 July 2026. The visit, on 20-21 July, is the first by an Indian President to the country and the second leg of her State Visits to Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania.
Murmu reached Skopje on the evening of 20 July and was received at the airport by Timcho Mucunski, North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. The next day President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova gave her a ceremonial welcome and guard of honour at Villa Vodno, the official residence and office of the President of North Macedonia.
In a one-to-one meeting and delegation-level talks, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues. They reaffirmed ties grounded in shared democratic values and mutual respect, and agreed the visit would consolidate the partnership.
Murmu said the additional ITEC slots would include courses in Artificial Intelligence. She also welcomed North Macedonia's intent to join the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance. Participation, she said, would let the country draw on global best practices and technical expertise for renewable energy and disaster resilience.
She described economic cooperation as an extremely important pillar of the relationship, with emphasis on IT/ITES, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and bio-tech, tourism, hospitality and film-making. Cultural and people-to-people ties, she said, have always been among the strongest pillars, and collaboration in the creative industry is part of that exchange.
Inaugurating the India-North Macedonia Business Forum in Skopje, Murmu said the economic and commercial relationship is "a frontier waiting to be fully conquered". Bilateral trade, she said, shows a steady positive trajectory but is only a fraction of what is possible.
Moving from trade to a true economic partnership, she said, requires a focus on mutual investment. She saw scope in digital innovation and artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, agro-processing and the green energy transition. She also called for partnerships among start-ups, universities, research institutions and technology enterprises, and for cooperation in AI, cyber security and digital innovation.
Murmu invited North Macedonia to take part in the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), to be held in India next year. She said businesses should lead in identifying viable projects and building long-term relationships. She urged chambers of commerce, investment agencies and business associations to establish linkages and facilitate exchanges of business delegations, and asked companies to invest in partnerships based on technology transfer, joint ventures, local value creation and employment generation.
Addressing the Assembly of North Macedonia on 21 July, with Siljanovska-Davkova present, Murmu said India regards the country as an important pillar in the architecture of a stable, multipolar and prosperous global future. She traced the relationship to more than two millennia ago, when expeditions of warriors and traders from the region opened corridors for trade, philosophy and art connecting early civilisations.
She called democracy a shared article of faith and parliaments the guardians of freedoms, architects of laws and mirrors of national conscience. Interactions between MPs, she said, build institutional trust that endures beyond political cycles, and she urged young legislators to travel between New Delhi and Skopje to share best practices in parliamentary work and public policy formulation.
Murmu said geopolitical and economic centres of gravity are shifting. India views Southeast Europe as a dynamic theatre of growth and innovation, she said, and North Macedonia as a vital gateway connecting the Mediterranean with Central Europe, and East with West. She said India is committed to scaling up engagement bilaterally and across the wider region, including through emerging trade and investment opportunities.
Invoking Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the idea that the world is one family, she said no nation can prosper in isolation and that the philosophy calls for building bridges, not walls, in a world fractured by conflict and economic division.
Murmu was accompanied by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya and MPs Dinesh Sharma and Vijay Baghel.
With reference to the State Visit of the President of India to North Macedonia, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following international initiatives:
How many of the above did President Murmu welcome North Macedonia's intent to join?
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: President Murmu said that bilateral trade between India and North Macedonia is only a fraction of what is possible.
Statement-II: She said that moving from trade to a true economic partnership requires a focus on mutual investment.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
