(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon (Wednesday, 9 December 2015), in his Jerusalem office, hosted Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The two men signed a treaty to prevent double-taxation and a joint statement marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
 
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "I'm delighted to see you again in Jerusalem, Nikola. It's a pleasure to see you. Your visit marks twenty years of our establishing diplomatic relations. It's a sign of our growing friendship, and today we're going to sign a declaration of friendship between our two countries.
 
We have a lot of things that we're working on – energy, water, agriculture, science, education, technology. I think also the area of defense and our common battle against terror is something that is highly important. And we value this friendship, we value this partnership. And I welcome you and your delegation here to Jerusalem. Welcome."
 
Macedonian Prime Minister Gruevski invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit his country.
 
Relations between Israel and Macedonia are very good; cooperation has grown in recent years. Macedonia has been taking positive action regarding historical issues as well; a Holocaust museum has recently been established in Skopje. Macedonia has also been making a special effort to rehabilitate the Jewish cemetery in Bitola (the second largest city in Macedonia), the oldest in the area; this has been greatly appreciated in Israel.