North Macedonia’s parliament approves formation of new gov’t

SKOPJE: JAN. 17 – The Parliament of North Macedonia approved late Sunday the formation of the country’s new government to be led by the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) Dimitar Kovachevski.

The new cabinet has 21 ministers, one more minister than the previous one led by Zoran Zaev. The SDSM has 12 ministerial posts, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) six and the Democratic Alternative Party three ministerial posts.

North Macedonia’s new prime minister, Kovachevski, 47, is replacing Zaev, who stepped down following the poor results of the local elections last October.

Speaking in front of lawmakers on the program of the new government, Kovachevski announced that North Macedonia will continue its good neighborly politics and strengthen cooperation with all neighboring countries by initiating new programs and projects to connect citizens through initiatives such as Open Balkans.

-Xinhua