Littlehampton's charter of friendship with Macedonian town is confirmed

Littlehampton Town Council agreed to sign the charter of friendship as an initial step of recognition with the Macedonian community, and to provide the foundations for a formal twinning arrangement.

At an annual public meeting on Thursday (April 24), mayor Sean Lee announced that Littlehampton would have a charter of friendship with Resen – a town in southwestern North Macedonia.

The Mayor of Resen, Jovan Tozievski, could not attend that meeting to officially sign the document but arrived in Littlehampton two weeks later to put pen to paper.

A spokesperson for Littlehampton Town Council said: “Marking this strong relationship between Littlehampton and Resen through the charter of friendship serves as a show of gratitude to the community and a display of how welcoming Littlehampton is to communities of all backgrounds.

"The charter of friendship was officially signed by the Mayor of Littlehampton and Resen who visited the Manor House on May 6, 2025. There was an exchange of gifts between both mayors and the North Macedonian ambassador as well as a visit to Littlehampton Museum where Loreta explained about the history of the former Nelson Pub.

"It is hoped that this will be the first step towards developing a formal Twinning agreement.”

Mr Lee, speaking at the end of his year as mayor, said: “This is unique in a number of ways because it's the first town in the UK to [have a relationship] with a town in North Macedonia.

“It's great and I hope it goes from strength to strength. It's a community-led initiative with the Macedonian community of Littlehampton leading on the progression of the process.

"From a personal perspective it was a privilege and an honour to be able to facilitate and help the people of Resen recognise their connection with Littlehampton.”

Mr Lee said the charter of friendship wouldn’t have happened without Peter and Loreta Stojanovski. The couple from North Macedonia announced their retirement after 46 years of running the Vardar Restaurant – in Selborne Road – and they have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity during that time.

It is the longest running Macedonian restaurant outside the country in the Balkans – and Littlehampton’s oldest Mediterranean restaurant.

Mr Lee added: “The social and cultural links that the society will develop could lead into trade and business links – it could benefit the town even further.

"Wee've still got at least two businesses in the town that are Macedonian. It was a great honour to get this over the line and I want to thank the ambassador who embarked on the journey as well.”

Katerina Stavreska – the ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia – said there are around 200 Macedonian households in Littlehampton, which is the largest contingent in the UK outside London.

She added: "This is the most active part of the Macedonian diaspora and I was happy to meet the mayor and our visions collided in a way.

"We are happy that finally we have come to this point. It is something that we commenced six months ago and is it is becoming a reality.

"The signing of the charter of friendship is the first step towards the final twinning of both towns.

"I have visited Littlehampton many times because the Macedonian community here is quite active and I have come up with this idea that it would be nice to do the twinning project between the two communities.

"I love the Littlehampton people, the wonderful nature, the peacefulness and calmness.

“There are many opportunities in terms of economic cooperation, promotion of the tourism and building on the relations between the two communities and of course the two countries.”