*UN membership is registered under "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". The name of the state is however the subject of a dispute between the Greek and the Macedonian governments. Mediation efforts are currently underway under the auspices of the United Nations.
Last updated in August 2009
Political relations
Bilateral relations are very good. Germany is the most important bilateral partner of the former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, both politically and economically. The main reason for this is Germany’s prompt and consistent support for the FYR Macedonia following independence, its role as the FYR Macedonia’s leading cooperation partner and the close personal ties forged by the approximately 62,000 Macedonian nationals living in Germany. Germany’s support during the Kosovo crisis, which led to waves of refugees that also affected the FYR of Macedonia, and during the crisis in the FYR of Macedonia itself in 2001 has cemented Germany’s reputation as an eminently reliable partner. Supporting the FYR of Macedonia’s efforts to draw closer to the Euro-Atlantic bloc is a central element of German bilateral policy. The same purpose is served by the numerous and extensive economic cooperation projects. Federal President Horst Köhler visited the FYR of Macedonia twice in 2008. For many years, there have been lively twinning arrangements between Macedonia’s capital Skopje and the German cities of Nuremberg and Dresden.
Economic relations/Development cooperation
Germany has traditionally been one of the main trading partners the FYR of Macedonia. Germany’s principal exports are pre-products for the textile industry as well as cars and commercial vehicles, and its main imports from the FYR of Macedonia are garments, sheet iron and steel and food-industry products.
In 2008, the volume of bilateral trade grew by 11.1 per cent compared with the previous year, to approximately EUR 935 million (German imports were worth approximately EUR 461 and German exports approximately EUR 474 million).
Germany also plays a leading role in bilateral development cooperation. Since 1992, the FYR Macedonia has received more than EUR 160 million from the Federal Republic of Germany under Financial and Technical Cooperation. Cooperation priorities are environment policy (particularly water supply and sanitation as well as waste management), strengthening social infrastructure through municipal projects and providing direct assistance to civil society, and thirdly support in developing a market economy, particularly through promoting the banking sector and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), modernizing agriculture and aligning legislation with EU standards.
Cultural relations
Cultural relations between Germany and the FYR of Macedonia are based on the agreement on cultural cooperation signed on 16 October 1997. The work of the Goethe Institute’s liaison office has been supervised since July 2007 by a seconded representative. Priority areas of relations in culture and education work include several ongoing programmes (scholarship programmes, seminars for German language teachers) and outstanding individual events such as concerts and exhibitions.
Apart from the German Embassy, cultural activities in the FYR of Macedonia are sponsored by the German-Macedonian cultural societies in Bitola and Skopje, which receive project-tied funding from the Federal Foreign Office. Active town-twinning arrangements between Nuremberg and Skopje and between Dresden and Skopje also enliven cultural exchange.
On account of the close political and economic ties between the two countries, Macedonians are very keen to learn the German language. Demand sometimes exceeds the facilities available. By enrolments, German is the third most popular foreign language (after English and French); in terms of importance it ranks second. There is no German School in the country. Since 2006, the Josip Broz Tito Secondary School in Skopje has awarded the DSD II advanced language diploma, a German university entrance qualification. There is keen interest in scholarships awarded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which runs an office staffed by a seconded representative at the University of Skopje. The FYR of Macedonia is a member of various DAAD research networks. The Robert Bosch Foundation is also active there.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation have seconded representatives to the FYR of Macedonia, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation has an office there.
