Relationship dossier
Turkey
North Macedonia
Relationship assessment
Turkey and North Macedonia maintain a cooperative partnership spanning trade, defense and NATO integration.
Turkey toward North Macedonia
+50Turkey has supported North Macedonia’s NATO integration and has developed defense and strategic cooperation with the country. Turkey also maintains a bilateral free-trade arrangement with North Macedonia.
North Macedonia toward Turkey
+45North Macedonia maintains a bilateral free-trade arrangement and defense cooperation with Turkey. Its NATO membership and bilateral partnership provide a framework for continuing government cooperation.
Overall relationship
+50The relationship is characterized by sustained cooperation in trade and defense, alongside Turkey’s support for North Macedonia’s NATO integration. These concrete ties support a cooperative overall assessment, although the breadth and implementation of cooperation are not fully clear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and North Macedonia maintain a substantially cooperative relationship, including a bilateral free-trade agreement and defense cooperation. Turkey has supported North Macedonia’s NATO integration, and the two countries have developed a strategic partnership. North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020. The breadth and implementation of cooperation across other areas are less clear.
Key developments
Turkey and North Macedonia established a bilateral free-trade agreement.
The countries developed a strategic partnership and defense cooperation.
North Macedonia joined NATO, following Turkey’s support for its integration.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral defense and strategic cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of recent government cooperation beyond trade, defense and NATO-related policy is unclear.