SKOPJE, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of North Macedonia and Bulgaria hold here Thursday the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation to discuss the increase of the trade exchange, railway and air connecting between the two countries.

The meeting was chaired by the North Macedonian Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi and the Bulgarian Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communication, Rosen Zhelyazkov.

The commission agreed concrete steps on future cooperation in economy, transport, energy, tourism, telecommunication and environment.

"One of the conclusions of the meeting is the cooperation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We will use the experience of Bulgaria in regard to use as many European funds as possible to increase the competitiveness of the domestic enterprises," said Bekteshi.

Zhelyazkov said that the two sides have planned to finalize the project for the reconstruction and modernization of the railway line linking the two capitals, Skopje and Sofia, by 2025.

Bekteshi underlined that both sides expect trade exchanges to increase and achieve double-digit growth.

Moreover, the commission discussed on the introduction of the Skopje-Sofia and Ohrid-Varna flights during the tourist season.