Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki held a meeting Wednesday with the Political Director at the Irish Foreign Affairs Department, David Donohue.

The meeting took place as part of the ongoing political consultations between the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, MoFA said in a press release.

At their meeting, Minister Poposki and Donohue have agreed that the political relations between Macedonia and Ireland can be deemed as both positive and constructive, as well as marking a steady development in the last few years. In that context, the interlocutors have expressed the commitment of their countries to promoting and intensifying their economic cooperation in the coming years.

On that note, Minister Poposki has welcomed the forthcoming visit to the the Republic of Macedonia by the Minister of State for European Affairs Foreign Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, which is scheduled to take place on 27 September 2012.

As FM Poposki has pointed out, the intensification of the political dialogue between Macedonia and Ireland will contribute towards better introducing European partners to the overall reform process that the Republic of Macedonia has been pursuing with a view to fully integrating the country into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. On that difficult path, the Republic of Macedonia will, in Minister Poposki's words, need both the support and assistance of all friendly countries such as Ireland, which will particularly come to light during its EU Presidency in the first half of 2013, stated the press release.