English
British Ambassador to Macedonia Michael Lawson shared details about the strategic partnership plan that is due to be signed this week in London. The Ambassador said that it will allow for significant investments of benefit to both countries, and categorically denied the speculations about migrant camps in Macedonia.
We are finalizing the arrangements for a big government delegation (in London). What happens next is that I think we have some negotiations still to do on complicated issues of financing and tendering, and I think you’ll see announcements from the Government on how this is going to work. Adn then I hope that really quickly you will see the first signs of how this is going to work in terms of building those hospitals and building the rail infrastructure. Your Government has made the request and the UK can provide this at speed, Ambassador Lawson said.
The pinnacle of the first stage of the agreement is expected to be a fast railroad line between Kumanovo and Gevgelija, that will allow speedy passenger traffic as well as massive cargo freight transit. Funding and expertise provided from the UK will also help build or reconstruct several regional hospitals under British standards, the Ambassador added.
On the issue of migration, that was focus of opposition media outlets and commentators in Macedonia, Ambassador Lawson said that the cooperation in this regard will focus on police cooperation to fight organized criminal groups that traffic migrants, drugs and weapons from the Balkans to the UK.
It’s about police forces working together, sharing intelligence, working more effectively on the borders to stop and break these criminal gangs. Now that is hugely different from the issue of returning migrants back from the UK to other countries. There was a lot of speculation in the British press about what will and will not happen in the Euro political community meeting and that kinda got mixed in with something we’ve been working on for a long time – this country joining the joint migration task force. UK, Kosovo and Albania are already part of that, the Ambassador added.
