Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia Sign Cooperation Agreements Under IPARD Program

Plamena Halacheva (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

During a Nov. 22 signing ceremony in Belgrade, attended by representatives of the EU Delegation to Serbia, the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture’s Agrarian Payments Directorate and the respective bodies of Montenegro and North Macedonia signed cooperation agreements under the EU's IPARD grant program for agriculture.

Serbia’s neighbors also attended the Open Balkan Wine Vision fair in the capital. The Government of Serbia said in a press release that the agreements were signed by Slobodan Nikolovski, head of the Serbian directorate, Marko Radonjic, director of Montenegro's IPARD Payments Directorate, and Ilija Stoilev, director of North Macedonia's Agency for Financial Support for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Plamena Halaceva, welcomed the "strengthening of the Western Balkans’ joint vision to make its agriculture more innovative, resilient, and sustainable." She emphasized the significant and transformative nature of EU support, adding that through the IPARD program, farmers, processors of agricultural products, and entire rural communities were being empowered to modernize and innovate their activities.

Halaceva underlined that the EU was supporting Serbian agriculture with EUR463 million for the implementation of the IPARD program and encouraged beneficiaries to use the funds to improve production and transform rural areas.