U.S., North Macedonia Ink Roadmap for Defense Coop over Next Decade

mod.gov.mk

The U.S. and North Macedonia had signed in Washington a new roadmap for defense cooperation over the next 10 years, the North Macedonian Defense Ministry said in a release on June 13.

At a meeting at the Pentagon, Skopje Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin laid foundations for developing defense collaboration between the two allied countries over the next decade. The new roadmap defines the priority areas of defense cooperation over the next 10 years and those though which the North Macedonian Army will be building its defense capacities.

Petrovska stressed that North Macedonia was now a member of NATO and that it was standing shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. in facing all common security challenges. “Last year, the U.S. provided enormous support to us, which was not only financial. We exchanged know-how and experience, together conducted drills and training sessions and we are proud to be contributing to the security of NATO and the region,” Petrovska stressed.

Austin thanked Skopje for everything it had done to support to the Ukrainian people, for strengthening the NATO eastern flank through participation in multinational NATO forces in Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania, and also for security of the region through its engagement in KFOR mission in Kosovo.