The guests from Macedonia told Mesic that although they do not have national minority status, they are well-organised, having established the Macedonian Croat Community in 1996, which is aimed at preserving the national identity and developing ties with Croatia and friendship with the Macedonian people.
According to the last census, Macedonia has a Croat population of 2,600. The Community launched the establishment of a Croatian language department at Skopje's Faculty of Philosophy, among others things.