This article covers how India recognised North Macedonia and handled the dispute over its name, the political developments in North Macedonia that the brief describes, and the visits, consultations, positions and agreements that make up the bilateral relationship. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief of June 2026.

Overview

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India and the Republic of North Macedonia "share cordial and friendly relations with no outstanding bilateral issues".

Recognition and the question of the name

Macedonia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in January 1992. India was one of the 40 co-sponsors of the resolution in the UN General Assembly for its admission to the UN under the provisional name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The provisional name was used because of a dispute with Greece over the name given in the new country's Constitution, "Republic of Macedonia".

India formally recognised Macedonia as FYROM, the name under which it had been admitted to the UN, through an exchange of letters between the two countries' Permanent Representatives to the UN in New York in February 1995.

Political developments in North Macedonia

The Prespa Agreement was signed with Greece on 17 June 2018 to resolve the long-standing dispute over the name. After the Parliament ratified the agreement on 20 June 2018, Greece withdrew its objection to the country's entry into the EU and NATO under its new name, and the country was renamed the Republic of North Macedonia with effect from 14 February 2019. NATO invited it to start accession talks in July 2018, and on 27 March 2020 North Macedonia became NATO's 30th member.

The brief records that Bulgaria blocked the start of EU membership talks in November 2020, seeking formal acknowledgement that North Macedonia's identity and language had Bulgarian roots, while North Macedonia insisted that it has a distinct South Slavic language. Bulgaria agreed to a compromise presented by the French Presidency of the EU in end-June 2022, which the then SDSM-DUI government accepted in July 2022. It required North Macedonia to amend its Constitution to include Bulgarians as a "founding ethnic minority" and to show progress in implementing the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation signed with Bulgaria in January 2018.

The first round of EU accession negotiations was held on 19 July 2022. The SDSM-DUI government could not secure the constitutional amendment, owing to a lack of majority in Parliament and opposition from the VMRO-DPMNE led by Hristijan Mickovski, and the talks paused. VMRO-DPMNE won the parliamentary elections of June 2024. The brief states that Prime Minister Hristijan Mickovski's government will not amend the Constitution "under the Bulgarian dictate", has proposed doing so when North Macedonia enters the EU, and wants to renegotiate the Prespa Agreement, which has strained relations with Greece.

Visits and meetings

  • February 2004: Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Faud Hasanovic visited India and signed a Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations between the two Foreign Ministries.
  • January 2009: Foreign Minister Mr. Antonio Milososki made the first Ministerial visit exchanged between the two countries. He met the then External Affairs Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and the Speaker, Shri Somnath Chatterjee, and in Kolkata met the Finance Minister of West Bengal and the Mayor of Kolkata.
  • 5 to 8 March 2012: Prime Minister Mr. Nikola Gruevski, from the VMRO-DPMNE party, visited India. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mr. Zoran Stavreski and Minister of Foreign Investments Mr. Bill Pavleski. In Delhi he called on the Prime Minister, and various bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest were discussed. The Macedonian side expressed support for India's bid for permanent membership of the UNSC.
  • 10-11 July 2012: Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Preneet Kaur, accompanied by a CII business delegation, made the first visit by an Indian Minister to Macedonia. She met Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy of the Macedonian Assembly, former Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki.
  • 5 to 8 March 2013: President of the National Assembly Mr. Trajko Veljanoski led a Parliamentary delegation to India. He met the Vice President, the Lok Sabha Speaker and a Minister of State, and the delegation witnessed a joint session of the two Houses of Parliament on 6 March 2013.
  • December 2013: Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki visited New Delhi, and two agreements were signed.
  • 6-12 November 2019: Minister of Justice Ms. Renata Deskoska visited India for the 20th International World Conference of Chief Justices in Lucknow.
  • 10-11 July 2023: Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi visited North Macedonia. She held bilateral meetings with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Fatmire Isaki and Deputy Minister of Culture Mr. Daim Luci, and called on the President of the National Assembly, Mr. Talat Xhaferi.
  • 31 August to 1 September 2023: Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Bujar Osmani made his first visit to India. He called on Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, held a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, met Deputy NSA Shri Vikram Misri and held a meeting with officials of the Government of West Bengal.
  • September 2024: the External Affairs Minister met Foreign Minister Mr. Timco Mucunski on the sidelines of UNGA79, and they discussed investment, connectivity and bilateral cooperation with the region.
  • July 2026: President Smt. Droupadi Murmu made the first visit by an Indian President to North Macedonia and held talks with President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in Skopje.

Foreign Office Consultations

The first round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) was held in Skopje in July 2007. Mr. Igor Ilievski, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Macedonian delegation and Shri K. C. Singh, Additional Secretary in the MEA, led the Indian delegation. The second round took place in New Delhi on 15 September 2010, led by Shri Vivek Katju, Secretary (West), and Mr. Zoran Petrov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Additional Secretary (Central Europe) visited Skopje on 7 May 2012 for Mid-Term DG-level FOCs, at which the Macedonian side reconfirmed its support for India's UNSC bid. Deputy Foreign Minister Ms Fatmire Isaki, with Director Jasmin Kahil, held the fourth round with Secretary (West) Shri Sanjay Verma in New Delhi on 27 October 2022. ICT, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, bio-tech, tourism, hospitality, culture, health, police and cyber-security were identified as possible sectors for bilateral cooperation.

Voice of Global South Summit

Environment Minister Mr. Naser Nuredini represented North Macedonia at the first Voice of Global South Summit in January 2023, and Environment Minister Mrs. Kaja Shukova at the second in November 2023. At the third, on 17 August 2024, Prof. Dr. Shaban Saliu, Minister for Implementation of Roma Strategy, took part in the Youth Ministers' Session, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Mr. Zoran Dimitrovski took part in the Foreign Ministers' session.

Positions on issues of importance to India

  • Kashmir: the Macedonian side supports India's position on no third-party intervention and that the matter be resolved bilaterally.
  • Article 370: North Macedonia has shown an understanding of India's action in abrogating Article 370.
  • UN candidatures: North Macedonia supported India for the non-permanent UNSC seat for 2021-22 and earlier for 2011-12, and for elections in bodies including the IMO, ICAO and the World Customs Organization. It has orally conveyed support for India's candidature for the 2028-29 term on a reciprocal basis, in lieu of India's support for its own UNSC candidature for 2042-43, and a written confirmation of the reciprocal arrangement has been sought from the Macedonian side.
  • Terrorism: North Macedonia strongly condemned the Mumbai attacks in 2008 and supports the Indian draft for a Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism.

Bilateral agreements

The brief lists these agreements as signed:

  • Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement [BIPA] (2008), not in operation now as North Macedonia wants to revise it
  • Visa waiver Agreement for holders of Diplomatic Passports (2009)
  • Agreement on Double Taxation (DTAA) (2013)
  • MoU between the Foreign Service Institute and the Macedonian Diplomatic Institute (2013)
  • MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Health (2021), signed on 21 January 2021

It lists these as being negotiated, some of them under discussion for several years:

  • Agreement on Economic and Trade Cooperation, proposed by India and under consideration since 2008
  • Amendment to the Visa Waiver Agreement to include Official Passport
  • Mobility and migration agreement, proposed by India
  • Agreement on Cultural Cooperation, proposed by India
  • Agreement on Social Security, proposed by India