North Macedonia Foreign Affairs Minister Bujar Osmani visits Kolkata, eyes to deepen bilateral ties with India

The delegation from Mother Teresa’s city of birth visited the Mother House to pay their homage to St. Teresa of Calcutta and also met the Archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D’Souza, and paid floral tributes amid prayers at a life-sized bronze statue of Mother Teresa stationed at the Archbishop House in Kolkata.

“We attach great importance to India and to the deepening and strengthening of our bilateral relations. We envisage opening a new chapter, a new dynamic in economic and political cooperation. I believe there is a huge untapped potential to grow economic relations between India and the Republic of North Macedonia,” said Bujar Osmani in Kolkata.

“It is great to meet our guests from Skopje – the city where Mother Teresa was born – and pay tribute to Mother Teresa. I am thankful to our well-wisher Mr Namit Bajoria, Honorary Consul of North Macedonia in Kolkata for his support,” Archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D’Souza, said.

Osmani met with Vandana Yadav (IAS), Chairperson, WBIDC, and explored the possibilities to forge business opportunities and collaborations between West Bengal and North Macedonia.

Yadav requested and invited Osmani to bring business delegations to Kolkata during the next Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) and have a business-to-business (B2B) interface with local entrepreneurs and businessmen.

The Foreign Affairs Minister also met Mayor, Firhad Hakim, and discussed possible collaborations in tourism, culture, and other areas. The Mayor extended his personal invitation to the minister to come to Kolkata at the next BGBS. Both agreed to increase cultural exchanges between North Macedonia and West Bengal.

“Our Ambassador in Delhi and our Honorary Consul of The Republic of North Macedonia in Kolkata, Mr Namit Bajoria, would take it forward and achieve our goals to achieve business and cultural ties with West Bengal,” said Osmani.

“Mother Teresa is the guiding force that connects Skopje and Kolkata through a spiritual bond. While Skopje, where she was born was her janma bhoomi, Kolkata on the other hand was her karma bhoomi. I look forward to the deepening of socio, cultural, economic, and political ties between India and the Republic of North Macedonia in the years ahead,” Namit Bajoria, Consul, Republic of North Macedonia in Kolkata, said.

“Our Honorary Consul office of the Republic of North Macedonia in Kolkata would take pro-active steps to build an environment for conducive business growth and cultural exchanges with West Bengal and also develop people-to-people contact,” said Bajoria.

The bronze statue of St. Teresa of Calcutta, conceptualized and designed by Subrata Ganguly of Church Art, was donated by Namit Bajoria in September 2016 to mark a symbolic link between Kolkata and Skopje, Macedonia’s capital city where Mother Teresa was born.

The statue was formally inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a week prior to the canonization of Mother Teresa in early September 2016.