The Ministry of Digital Transformation and FINKI today officially marked the beginning of the "Vezilka" project - the first National Center for Artificial Intelligence in North Macedonia, which will represent a key national infrastructure for the development of knowledge, innovation and application of artificial intelligence.
The project is being implemented as a strategic partnership between the Government, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the academic community and the European Union. The leader of this project is the Faculty of Information Sciences and Computer Engineering (FINKI), and it has been selected for funding through the Horizon Europe program and the EuroHPC initiative, as part of the European network of AI Factory Antennas.
In his address, the Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski emphasized that "Vezilka" is a systemic investment in the future of the country.
"Today lay the foundation for a new national infrastructure for knowledge, innovation and technological development. This is a project that connects science, technology, institutions, business and young talents in a common vision for the future. A vision in which N. Macedonia is not just a user of new technologies, but their active creator," Andonovski stressed.
The Minister emphasized that through "Vezilka", N. Macedonia becomes part of the most ambitious European initiative in the field of artificial intelligence and gains direct access to European supercomputers, advanced data spaces and modern tools for the development and testing of AI models.
Special emphasis was placed on the development of Macedonian language models and the digital presence of the Macedonian language in future generations of artificial intelligence systems.
"In the era of artificial intelligence, the digital presence of the Macedonian language becomes a matter of preserving cultural identity. Our goal is for the Macedonian language to be equally present in future generations of AI systems," the Minister emphasized.
In addition to the scientific and technological component, the project will enable the development of solutions in healthcare, energy, agriculture and public administration, as well as the establishment of a centre for training, knowledge transfer and human capital development.
In his address, the Prime Minister, Prof. Dr. Hristijan Mickoski, emphasized that “Vezilka” represents an investment in knowledge, in people and in the capacity of N. Macedonia to be part of European and global technological flows, point out that the future competitiveness of countries will depend on their ability to invest in innovation, research and talent.
The “Vezilka” project will be connected to the European AI factory “Faros” in Greece and will become part of the broader regional and European ecosystem for artificial intelligence, opening new opportunities for Macedonian researchers, companies, startups and institutions.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation remains committed to creating a modern digital state, based on knowledge, innovation and good governance, in which new technologies will be put at the service of the citizens, the economy and the long-term development of North Macedonia.
