Bolstering the trade exchange, possibility for erecting a customs terminal on the border crossing Jaznice and advancing the cooperation in tourism were main topics of discussion between Macedonia's Economy Minister Driton Kuci and Kosovo Minister Trade and Industry Minister Hikmete Bajrami.

Tuesday's meeting in Skopje was also attended by the Presidents of Kosovo and North-West Macedonia Chamber of Commerce, Safet Gerxhaliu and Nebi Hoxha respectively. The bad infrastructure is the only obstacle to bolstering the economic cooperation between the two countries, the meeting concluded.

Kosovo is a significant economic, trade partner of Macedonia and the economic cooperation between the two countries is based on 28 bilateral agreements, Kuci told a press conference.

Since the enforcement of CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement) in 2008 the total trade exchange has been realized under a duty-free system, he added.

Today' he said, we have reviewed a possibility to conduct the customs procedure on the border crossing Jaznice, which will be rather convenient for the businesses of both countries, he added.

In the future the two countries should also work on increasing the number of visitors, as the health tourism offers solid prospect, namely Kosovo citizens spend about EUR 25-30 m for medical treatments in Macedonia on annual basis, Kuci said.

"We should not be rivals but partners with common strategy for presentation on third markets," Bajrami said. She also notified the sphere of tourism as a great potential for bilateral cooperation.

Last year the Macedonia-Kosovo trade exchange was at over EUR 200 million, most of which is Macedonian export to the Kosovo market. In the first six months of 2016 the trade exchange rate was higher for 13 percent in comparison to the previous year.