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WORLD
Visit by the French Minister of State for European Affairs, Mister Harlem Désir
THE ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IS
THE PRIORITY FOR FRANCE
Support of the normalization of the political condition
and solidarity in coping with the migrant crisis
Recently , the French Minister of State for
European Affairs, Mr. Harlem Désir stayed in
Skopje. He is known to the French public ever since
his beginnings in the eighties as the first president support of the potential investors in the country.
of the organization SOS Racisme. In his busy
schedule, among others, he held meetings with
the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki, the
Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Mr.
Fatmir Besimi, as well as with Zoran Zaev from the
largest opposition party. On this occasion, on the
premises of the French Residence, a meeting was
organized with part of the business community
ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
The date of my visit is not by chance. A
day after the Opposition returned to the
Parliament, I would like to point out the
support by France of the Agreement from
July 15th which should provide a way out
of the exceptionally severe political crisis
that the country is going through, since
the elections back in 2014. It is in the in-
terest of the country, of the Balkan, and
of Europe as well.
Essentially, my visit is political in na-
ture, but it cannot be imagined without
these economic aspects and without a
66 September 2015
Lidija Georgieva
The author is a designer,
Associate Professor
consisted of French-Macedonian companies, as
well as with the group for economic mobilization.
This group was created in order to strengthen the
It comprises of representatives of the existing
French companies, Société Générale – Ohridska
Banka, Bricolage, Carrefour, the Accor Group,
Fame’s recording studio, etc. Being a member of
the group, I had the honor and pleasure to attend
this meeting and to report on the answers of the
Minister on the topics that were covered, along
with the current priorities of France.
meeting with the business community.
The position of France in the economic
exchange is modest in this country, how-
ever our presence is on the rise. After the
arrival of the Carrefour Group in 2012,
the Accor Group this year, and with the
help of Société Générale – Ohridska Ban-
ka, the first French investor in this coun-
try back in 2007, we obtained a positive
image, on the basis of companies that are
present in different sectors and a positive
macro-economic context with a growth of
3% per year. We have been enriched with
an International French School in Skopje,
where the number of enrolled children