Serbia and North Macedonia: Enhancing partnership for socio-economic recovery and sustainability

Colleagues from the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia , the FAO Investment Centre and the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels held two meetings with representatives from the European Union’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) covering cooperation with the Republic of North Macedonia the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the EU Delegations established in Serbia and North Macedonia.

The meeting enabled an exchange of views on a range of topics including agriculture, rural development, fisheries and forestry in Serbia and North Macedonia, and the support partners can provide to the governments of these countries. 

FAO and EU colleagues acknowledged the catalytic role of partnership to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially considering the current socio-economic slowdown, in which agriculture and related subsectors have proved to be instrumental for recovery and development.

Participants also underscored the convergence of priorities reflected in the EU’s Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, and in the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031.