North Macedonia–Turkey relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Both countries are full members of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. North Macedonia has an embassy in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and a Consulate General in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Turkey has an embassy in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

History

Due to historical, cultural, and human bonds (and geographical distance), North Macedonia and Turkey have very close and friendly relations.Relations between Türkiye and North Macedonia
Republic of Turkey - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shortly after North Macedonia declared its independence from the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

in 1991 Turkey recognized North Macedonia's sovereignty as one of the first countries to do so. Bilateral relations were established on 26 August 1992. North Macedonia has an embassy in

and a consulate–general in

, while Turkey has an embassy in

and a consulate-general in

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

. Also, the

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

is a co-official language in two municipalities, alongside the

Macedonian language Macedonian ( ; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch. Sp ...

. Turkey and North Macedonia also have good economic relations. There are several Turkish companies present in North Macedonia, notably

TAV Airports Holding TAV Airports Holding () is a Turkish airport operation and services firm that is part of Groupe ADP. It is one of the world's largest airport operators, providing services to 1 million flights and 152 million passengers in 2018. TAV was establi ...

and

Şişecam Şişecam (official name: Türkiye Şişe ve Cam Fabrikaları) is a Turkish glass manufacturing company. In the 2020 fiscal year, the company operated 43 plants in 14 countries. In terms of production capacity, Şişecam is the largest flat glass ...

. Both countries aspire to join the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. North Macedonia is the only Orthodox country in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

not to send a single high-ranking visitor to the

Tsitsernakaberd The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex (, ''Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir'', or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, '' Tsitsernakaberd'') is Armenia's official memorial Armenian genocide recognition, dedicated to the victims of the Armenian g ...

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

Memorial in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. In a

Gallup polls Gallup, Inc. is an American multinational analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Gallup provides analytics and mana ...

conducted in 2010, Turkey is viewed as a ''friendly country'' with a positive image among a large majority (80 percent) of people in the Republic of North Macedonia. Recognition of the Republic of North Macedonia by Turkey is predicated on North Macedonia upholding the free movement and rights of Albanians in the country. In February 2018, Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

expressed support of the Republic of North Macedonia's position during negotiations over the dispute, saying that Greece's position is wrong. Turkey supports the Republic of North Macedonia's bid to join the

Citizens from North Macedonia of Turkish origin

There are 77,959 citizens declared as Turkish in North Macedonia, forming 3.85% of the population of the country. The Turks of North Macedonia serve as a bridge between the two states, and were part of a program for cooperation in the sphere of culture for the period between 2009 and 2011. According to the program both sides shall intensify the cooperation in different segments of culture and art. Additionally, the countries shall promote each other's culture and open Cultural Information Centres - North Macedonia in Istanbul and Turkey in Skopje. On that occasion, the minister of North Macedonia also announced that the government of North Macedonia decided to renew the house of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's parents, located in the village of

Kodžadžik Kodžadžik (; ), is a village in the municipality of Centar Župa, North Macedonia. Name A former Ottoman fortress existed at the location of Kodžadžik before the end of the first half of the 15th century. Scholars such as Smiljanić and Had ...

near

Debar Debar ( ; , sq-definite, Dibra or Dibra e Madhe) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ethnic Albanian majorit ...

.Government of the Republic of Macedonia
The Turkish authorities allowed archaeologists from North Macedonia to make a copy of the

Alexander Sarcophagus The Alexander Sarcophagus is a late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the Royal necropolis of Ayaa near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with high relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological na ...

that afterwards will be displayed in a museum in North Macedonia.

References

External links

Embassy of North Macedonia in Ankara

Embassy of Turkey in Skopje
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Macedonia-Turkey relations

History

Citizens from North Macedonia of Turkish origin

See also

References

External links