NATO Secretary General: North Macedonia’s membership contributes to Euro-Atlantic security
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, at NATO Headquarters on Thursday (8 October 2020). He hailed North Macedonia’s membership of NATO on 27 March 2020 as a remarkable achievement “after years of determination and commitments to reform”. “It is good for the people of North Macedonia” he said “and it contributes to Euro-Atlantic security”.
He thanked North Macedonia for its valuable contributions to NATO’s missions in Afghanistan and in Kosovo and welcomed its commitment to increasing defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2024.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, North Macedonia benefited from Allied support with the delivery of medical supplies and financial aid to ease the burden on the healthcare system. In addition, the Secretary General announced that North Macedonia will receive a COVID-19 assistance package from NATO’s new medical stockpile, including 60 ventilators and other urgently needed equipment worth approximately 1.4 million euros. “This is NATO solidarity in action”, the Secretary General said. He further reiterated NATO’s Counter-Hybrid Support Teams’ readiness to help Allied nations address continued cyber and hybrid threats, including disinformation activities “targeting our institutions, our values and our democracies”.