Trade and investment between Italy and North Macedonia are set to keep on growing, the Italian foreign ministry said Thursday after foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi held talks in Rome with the country's deputy premier Bujar Osmani, and foreign minister Nikola Dimitrov.
Bilateral economic relations between Italy and North Macedonia are especially expected to flourish in the energy and infrastructure sectors, according to a foreign ministry statement.
"The recent signing of the protocol of accession of North Macedonia to Nato was discussed and the context and the state of work related to a future opening of negotiations for European membership were thoroughly analysed," said the statement.
Thursday's discussions in Rome came after "the recent positive recommendation of the European Commission and in the framework of the integration process of the Western Balkan countries," the statement added.
The European Commission formally recommended on Wednesday that North Macedonia should start EU membership talks.
North Macedonia changed its name from Macedonia following an agreement with Greece last year that opened the way for the ex-Yugoslav republic to join Nato in 2020.
North Macedonia's accession protocol was signed by all Nato member states in Brussels on 6 February and the accession process is continuing in the capitals of allied nations, where individual protocols are ratified according to national procedures.
The Balkan country's long-standing bid to join Nato was blocked for more than a decade due to a dispute with neighbouring Greece over its former name of Macedonia, which is that of a Greek province.
North Macedonia will attend a summit of foreign ministers from the 18-nation Central European Initiative regional cooperation forum taking place in Trieste, northeast Italy on 11-12 June, according to the foreign ministry statement.
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