Skopje, 10 July 2024 (MIA) - NATO Summit marking the Alliance’s 75th anniversary continues Wednesday in Washington.

Major topics include providing secure and stable support for Ukraine, enhancing deterrence and defense, strengthening transatlantic defense industrial cooperation, increasing defense production, and reinforcing global partnerships with the Indo-Pacific region.

Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing NATO Secretary General, stated late Tuesday that he expects the Summit to result in crucial decisions about the Alliance's future and further steps to strengthen assistance for Ukraine.

The government delegation, which includes Defense Minister Vlado Misajlovski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski, and Interior Minister Pance Toshkovski, headed by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, is taking part in the NATO Summit. Parliament Speaker, Afrim Gashi, is also in Washington, where he is participating the NATO Parliamentary Summit.

Numerous bilateral meetings with leaders of the Alliance's member countries are planned, but it remains uncertain whether PM Mickoski will meet with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the Summit.

The North Atlantic Treaty, which laid the foundation for NATO, was signed on April 4, 1949, in Washington by 12 countries: Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, the United States, France, and the Netherlands.

Currently, the Alliance has 32 members, with North Macedonia becoming a full member in 2020. The latest countries to join are Finland in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.

Photo: MIA archive