Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić has met today with the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia in charge of economic issues Koča Anđušev, with who he agreed on the solution of individual issues, which exist in the trade of the two countries.

Mr Ljajić and Mr Anđušev have agreed that by June 30 this year, bilateral Agreement on cooperation in the field of safe food and veterinary medicine and Agreement on phytosanitary cooperation will be signed and ratified, which will acknowledge the mutual validity of the certificates. In that manner the need for double sampling and analyses of the same food products will practically stop, which will significantly reduce additional and unnecessary costs faced by the producers in both countries.

By then, the agreement of Mr Ljajić and Mr Anuđšev is that the governments should undertake necessary measures in the light of facilitating the trade and eliminating the non-tariff barriers in trade of the two countries. that actually means that Serbian border services are obliged to eliminate barriers in trade in rice, cold meat and dairy products from Macedonia in Serbia, while the Macedonian side is obliged to re-enter into force the old Rulebook on control of flour stamps, which was valid before February 7 this year, thanks to which the barriers to flour export from Serbia to Macedonia were eliminated.

In the meeting it was also agreed that an ad hoc group should be formed right away, consisted of the members of the offices of the two deputy prime ministers and representatives of chambers of commerce, which will be in every-day contact and resolve all the issues arising in trade between the two countries.