President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday called for a significant expansion of economic engagement between India and North Macedonia, urging businesses from both countries to move beyond trade and build long-term partnerships through investment, technology collaboration and joint ventures.
Addressing the inaugural session of the India–North Macedonia Business Forum in Skopje, President Murmu said the bilateral economic relationship remains largely untapped despite steady growth in trade and described it as “a frontier waiting to be fully conquered.”
The forum was attended by North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, members of the country’s government, business leaders from both nations and representatives of industry associations.
Highlighting the significance of her visit, President Murmu said it was the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian President to North Macedonia, reflecting India’s commitment to strengthening ties across all areas of mutual interest.
The President noted that although bilateral trade has shown consistent growth, it still represents only a small share of the potential economic partnership between the two countries. She called for efforts to diversify trade and set an ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade by the end of the decade.
President Murmu emphasised that future cooperation should increasingly focus on mutual investments across sectors such as digital innovation, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, agro-processing, renewable energy and green technologies.
She highlighted India’s success in building digital public infrastructure, including the widespread adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and invited North Macedonia to collaborate in the next phase of digital innovation by leveraging its highly skilled and multilingual technology workforce.
Describing India as the “pharmacy of the world”, the President said Indian pharmaceutical companies are well positioned to invest in North Macedonia by establishing joint manufacturing facilities that could supply affordable medicines and medical devices to the Balkan region and wider European markets.
She also pointed to opportunities in agriculture and food processing, saying North Macedonia’s fertile land and strategic location make it an attractive destination for Indian agro-businesses to invest in modern food processing and cold-chain logistics.
In the clean energy sector, President Murmu invited North Macedonia to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and explore joint investments in solar power, wind energy and green hydrogen. She also encouraged the country to become part of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) to strengthen climate resilience and promote sustainable energy solutions.
The President further invited North Macedonia to participate in the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), scheduled to be held in India next year, describing it as a platform to foster international collaboration in media, entertainment and the creative industries.
Calling for closer collaboration in innovation, President Murmu stressed the need to strengthen partnerships among start-ups, universities, research institutions and technology enterprises. She identified artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital innovation as promising areas for future cooperation.
The President urged chambers of commerce, investment agencies and business associations from both countries to establish stronger institutional linkages and facilitate regular business exchanges. She also encouraged companies to look beyond short-term commercial transactions and focus on partnerships based on technology transfer, joint ventures, local value creation and employment generation.
Expressing confidence that the business forum would open new avenues of cooperation, President Murmu said India and North Macedonia have the opportunity to build an economic partnership founded on trust, innovation and shared prosperity. The event forms part of the President’s official visit aimed at deepening political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
