Türkiye, North Macedonia officials evaluate international transport corridors

Türkiye and North Macedonia officials evaluated infrastructure investments and strategic partnerships in transportation corridors at a business forum in Istanbul.

Organized by Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) in Istanbul on Friday, the event hosted high level officials from both countries, including North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said historical ties between Türkiye and North Macedonia reached higher levels day-by-day.

He stressed thatt he wars around Türkiye’s region have caused critical warnings regarding the urgent need to develop numerous alternatives for transport corridors.

Türkiye has made a $355 billion investment in infrastructure, specifically transportation infrastructure, over the past 23 years.

“We estimate that this will contribute $2 trillion to the national economy over the next 10 years, through this initiative, we are also contributing to the employment of 1.2 million people annually,” he noted.

He said the cooperation agreement between the Turkish State Railways and the North Macedonian Railway Infrastructure Agency (PERI) will significantly contribute to enhancing the two countries’ mutual cooperation.

“We are situated at a highly strategic point connecting Europe and Asia, therefore, we are gradually increasing these transit points day by day,” he said.

Uraloglu noted that for the railway line passing through the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul— approximately 120 kilometers—Türkiye secured a loan of $6.75 billion from six international institutions led by the World Bank.

He added: “We are also working on a corridor originating from the Gulf region, the Development Road Corridor.

“If we had completed this corridor today, we wouldn’t have had the Strait of Hormuz dominate the global agenda to such an extent due to traffic from Iraq.”

He also said Türkiye is ready for all forms of cooperation with North Macedonia, and it is ready to share all its expertise.

North Macedonia focuses on strategic corridors

North Macedonian Government General Secretary Igor Janushev explained that his country developed corridors eight and 10 to place the country at the heart of allies’ strategic needs.

Janushev stated that the country planned to invest €5.5 billion ($6.4 billion) in infrastructure over the next five to seven years.

He shared that the government signed a strategic partnership agreement with the UK to finance these projects.

He highlighted that Turkish companies played an active and constructive role in railway and highway projects in the country.

Janushev announced that North Macedonia planned to publish a €450 million tender for the third section of corridor eight together with the European Investment Bank and the EU in two to three weeks.