Besimi said that Macedonia met all the standards and had successfully carried out all the necessary reforms to meet NATO demands. He sees Slovenia as Macedonian friend and a great supporter of the country's efforts to join Euro-Atlantic alliances.

As a supporter of Macedonia's NATO membership, Slovenia will try to persuade other NATO members at the upcoming summit in Chicago that it is time for the dispute between Macedonia and Greece, which is hindering Macedonia's progress in this respect, be resolved.

Similarly, Prime Minister Janež Janša, who is visiting Germany today, told the press in Berlin that the long dispute was affecting Macedonia's stability. That is why "we expect flexibility of both sides," he stated.

Hojs and Besimi also looked into bilateral cooperation in defence and labelled it as "very good" and "intensive". They also touched on cooperation as part of international operations and missions, and discussed the issue of defence reforms.

Hojs said that the bilateral cooperation in defence could be enhanced in the area of the so-called smart defence, where countries join their forces to boost their capabilities.

Besimi is the first foreign minister to be received by Hojs since the minister took office.

As part of the working visit to Ljubljana, Besimi met Chief of the General Staff, Brigardier Dobran Božič, President Danilo Türk and Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec.

The Macedonian delegation also visited the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) this morning.