Government Promoted its Strategy for Cooperation with the Civil Sector

23 February 2007

The Strategy promoted yesterday by the Department for Cooperation with Nongovernmental Organizations of the Government�s General Secretariat aims to improve the cooperation between the Government and the civil sector.

�The document is based on three fundamental principles � trust, partnership and cooperation, and should serve as a framework and guidance for a well-thought state policy for cooperation and support of the civil sector, cooperation which will reflect that priorities, principles and approaches proposed by the Strategy�, said Daniela Trajanovski, General Secretary of the Government.

Erwan Fouere, the EU Ambassador to Macedonia, emphasized the importance of the full implementation of the Strategy, which will send a message to the citizens, the region and the European Union.

�This is another concrete step towards establishment of dialogue and partnership with the civil sector. This document should result in increased trust between the two sides�, said Fouere and emphasized the six principles that create the foundation for the cooperation � mutual trust, partnership, permanent dialogue, transparency, independence and accountability.

The Strategy, as planned, should be fully implemented by the year 2011. It was prepared under the EU project �Technical Support for Government�s Department of Civil Society�, led by the European Agency for Reconstruction, which started in December 2005 and will be completed in May of this year.