Noting that Macedonia's referendum on the name deal with Greece failed due to low turnout, Cerar stressed that Slovenia nevertheless saw the result as a convincing message that the drive to join the EU and NATO should continue, the Macedonian press agency Mia reported.
According to Cerar, this was corroborated by the decision of the Macedonian parliament, which has endorsed the start of the process to change the Constitution with a two-thirds majority.
"It is an extremely important step forward that confirms the will to permanently tackle the name issue and thus to allow Macedonia to move forward on its path to the Euro-Atlantic associations," Cerar was quoted by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry.
According to Cerar, Slovenia remains a firm supporter of Macedonia on its path and supports the European Commission's assessment that Macedonia is ready to begin negotiations to join the EU.
Nevertheless, the foreign minister called on Macedonia to continue reform efforts and promised Slovenia's help in the matter.
"It is a historic moment for Macedonia. Decisions that will be taken in the coming months will be of historic importance not only for Macedonia and its future generations but also for the entire region," Cerar said.
His host, Dimitrov thanked him for Slovenia's support and highlighted the role Slovenia will have next year, when it will take over from Croatia as the contact point embassy for Macedonia's membership in NATO.
"This will happen in a key moment, when accession protocols for NATO membership will be designed," Cerar added.
The pair also agreed ties were excellent in business. Bilateral trade stands at about EUR 300m a year, while Slovenia is one of the main foreign investors in the country.
Moreover, Macedonia is one of Slovenia's priority countries in developmental cooperation. It has allocated around EUR 17.5m in developmental aid to Macedonia between 2005 and 2017.
Today, Cerar also met Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and President Gjorgje Ivanov, with the talks focussing on migrations and globalisation challenges as well as ways to deepen bilateral cooperation, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.
The Macedonian president said he was thankful for Slovenia's proactive role at the start of the 2015 migrant crisis and its help and cooperation in managing the migrant flow, including with police officers on the Macedonian-Greek border.
Cerar and Dimitrov later inaugurated the new building of the Slovenian Embassy in Skopje, with Cerar pointing to the importance of the embassy in further strengthening of bilateral relations.
The Slovenian foreign minister also noted that the countries cooperated in culture, art, science and education, adding that as many as 782 students from Macedonia had studied in Slovenia last year.
Slovenia was the first country to open its embassy in Macedonia, in 1992, while Ljubljana was the first capital in which Macedonia opened a consulate.
Tomorrow, Cerar is scheduled to meet Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zaharieva, President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Bojko Borisov, as well as deputy Speaker Emil Hristov in Sofia.
