Ohrid, 16 September 2021 (MIA) – North Macedonia’s NATO membership means more than just military protection within the alliance, it also means cooperation among the member countries and mutual aid during disasters and extraordinary situations. The potential catastrophic earthquake that could hit the Ohrid-Struga region, and the ways its resources can be used, as well as help from NATO’s partners when all existing crisis management capacities are exhausted, is the scenario of NATO’s “North Macedonia 2021” drill which will be held at multiple locations in Ohrid and Struga over the upcoming days. It was clarified at the press conference on Thursday, concerning the drill, that there are going to be activities within NATO’s 2023 agenda for civilian preparedness of the Alliance’s member states. “North Macedonia is still in a state of crisis in regards to the migrant condition. We faced a great number of fires this summer, and it’s our second year into the Covid-19 pandemic. Preparing a drill of this caliber is a huge challenge, it tests all national capacities of the hosting country, as well as the efforts for demonstration of preparedness of organizing such a big event,” said Urim Vejseli, drill director and the person responsible for international cooperation at the Crisis Management Center. The drill’s main goal will be to test the capacities and resources of the crisis management system, and checking the preparedness of the NICS system, an advanced system for central tracking and managing of crises with a command center that will be able to manage all available resources on a regional level, as well as to test the measure for free technical flow and people over the borders of NATO’s member countries in times of crisis. “In cases when the country has exhausted all resources and needs help from its partners, through the established memorandums for fast flow of rescue teams within the Alliance, one can avoid the bureaucratic procedures that are typically applied at border crossings,” Vejseli said. This is the first hybrid drill held in North Macedonia, with field and HQ activities, as well as a symposium with topics from the areas of civil-military cooperation in times of crisis and the army’s role in case of an emergency, keeping in mind that the military’s engagement is the last resort that should be used under any circumstances. Wim Vanhamme, Deputy Head of the NATO Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre at NATO Headquarters and main coordinator of the drill, noted that the drill is civilian, not military. “Safety is not only achieved through military means. NATO’s mission entails safety of its member states in military cases, but also in cases of crises and natural disasters. NATO’s activities and drills such as 'North Macedonia 2021' provide us with the opportunity to check our civilian capacities’ preparedness to face and manage crises, as well as to promote and deepen regional cooperation and interoperability. As the organizer of this drill, this is a confirmation of North Macedonia’s successful path from partnership to membership in NATO,” Vanhamme said. Representatives of 28 member states and partners of NATO, as well as several international organizations, will participate in the event. As previously said, the drill will allow the teams to react quickly in a crisis, as well as let planners and estimators to create and practice activities related to search and rescue in urban environments, as well as in water and the mountains, then medical team drills for emergencies, as well as activities of crews to detect and identify chemical, biological and radiological agents, as well as activities related to misinformation. dk/ba/