Deepening regional cooperation: Follow-up visits strengthen Bulgaria-North Macedonia exchange

As part of the initiative “Building Bridges and Cooperation Networks between Citizens, Civil Society Organisations, and Businesses from Southeast Europe”, follow-up visits were organised to foster further collaboration between institutions and organisations from Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

Led by the Institute for Good Governance and Euro-Atlantic Perspectives (IDUEP) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), with support from the European Centre of Excellence (ECE Brussels), the initiative included two follow-up activities in 2024.

The first visit took place in Sofia, involving representatives from North Macedonia’s Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones (TIDZ), the Cabinet of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDUEP, FNF, and ECE Brussels. The focus was on exploring cooperation opportunities in the field of technology parks, taking inspiration from the Sofia Tech Park and similar innovation-driven institutions in both countries.

The second visit brought the leadership of the National Youth Forum of Bulgaria to Skopje, where they exchanged experiences with Macedonian counterparts and explored best practices in youth policy development and cooperation between youth organisations and public institutions.

The broader initiative officially began in June 2023 with a joint study visit to Sofia by IDUEP and FNF. That visit laid the foundation for numerous proposals and sparked further institutional interest in regional exchange and strategic partnerships between organisations from both countries.

ECE Brussels is proud to contribute to this ongoing initiative, which aligns with its mission to support cross-border cooperation, youth engagement, and the EU integration agenda in the region.