Skopje, 26 March 2025 (MIA) - A NATO Alliance team led by senior political expert and country rapporteur Stuart Andrews will participate in bilateral defence discussions on Wednesday and Thursday. According to the Ministry of Defence, talks will focus on plans for the development of defence capabilities in line with NATO capability goals, including defence plans, funds and human resources in defence.

The team of experts from the Ministry of Defence, led by State Secretary Elizabeta Chupovska Ristova, will brief participants on the burden-sharing performance, which also includes defence spending.

The Ministry notes that in accordance with the defence spending commitment, agreed at the Vilnius Summit in 2023, and reaffirmed at the Washington Summit in 2024, the country spends 2% of GDP for defence, i.e. EUR 329 million, of which over 32 percent is intended for equipping and modernizing the Macedonian Army.

"The commitment of the Ministry and the country to ongoing reforms and development of defence capabilities in the service of national and collective defence in NATO will be reaffirmed before the NATO team," the Defence Ministry said in a press release. 

Bilateral defence discussions with the Alliance, the Ministry adds, are held annually within the NATO defence planning process. The process of implementing defence reforms, plans for future development, as well as the level achieved in the development of defence capabilities are evaluated across multiple areas.

Photo: Ministry of Defence