Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva and her visiting Albanian counterpart Kastriot Islami told a joint news conference in Skopje on 6 May that the two countries are united in their wish for dynamic cooperation and their common aim to join NATO and the EU, MIA reported.

Mitreva said she hopes the three countries of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter -- Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia -- receive a clear signal for their membership at the upcoming NATO summit in Istanbul.

The two ministers also discussed regional infrastructure projects such as the Trans-European corridor No. 8 and the AMBO oil-pipeline project running through Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

Mitreva also lauded recent Albanian efforts to improve the integration of the Macedonian minority in Albania.

Islami and Mitreva agreed to open two new border checkpoints, "Utrinski vesnik" reported.

(RFE/RL 07.v.04)