" In my capacity as Minister for Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia, and on behalf of the Government, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the great effort that the European Commission has made in developing the Western Balkans Agenda for Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. The importance of this Innovation Agenda for the Western Balkans region has been doubled by the fact that it has been endorsed and is a result of the cooperation between the European Commission, EU Member States and WB countries. I find this to be an important signal for the region that we are all united in our efforts for prosperity and integrity of the Region and of Europe as a whole.

The Agenda will certainly contribute to region’s economic development, or even contribute toward sustainable, green, inclusive and digital economy and society. In this regard, the Republic of North Macedonia stays committed to aligning its national efforts to the Western Balkans Agenda and to the new Horizon Europe program.

In this regard, I would like to list some of the activities which are part of the new Agenda and are consolidated with the new measures which the Republic of North Macedonia is implementing in the field of R&I.

• Development of the Smart Specialization Strategy, supported by the Joint Research Centre, is underway. The preparation for starting EDP phase is almost finalized and it’s expected to be launched in early December 2021
• The Republic of North Macedonia completed the negotiation process with EC for its accession to Horizon Europe Program. The country has already nominated National Contact Points and Program Committee Members for Horizon Europe and for European Innovation Council Forum as well.
• The Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) is working on a complete change of the model for financing of the scientific and research activities by introducing project and program type of financing and by awarding grants.

Hence, 3 competitive calls have been announced:

• A call for financing scientific and research projects of special and public interest for 2021 to support development of laboratory resources;
•  A call for financing scientific research projects of the Public Scientific Institutions, as independent scientific institutions that perform activities of high strategic and national interest for the Republic of North Macedonia.
•  A call for awarding scholarships for post graduate studies (MSc and PhD) in the country for the academic year 2021/2022.

So far, seven public research institutions received grants for scientific and research projects, while 44 research institutions received grants for implementing scientific and research projects aiming to support development of laboratory resources.

A new Law on Scientific and Research Activity is being prepared by a working group composed of representatives of all universities and scientific institutes.

The Fund for Innovation and Technological Development (FITD) continues with the realization of the programs for the support of the private sector in the fields of innovation and technology development, hence generating a portfolio of over 600 companies. Additionally, MoES and FITD granted over 15 million denars for industry-academia cooperation.

The main purpose of all these efforts and major changes that the MoES has already launched, both in terms of legislation changes and in terms of providing more national funds for science and research, is directed toward increasing the investment of the country in science and research. "