Skopje, 26 March 2024 (MIA) – Caretaker Prime Minister Talat Xhaferi chaired a government session Tuesday marking the fourth anniversary of North Macedonia's membership in NATO.

The PM spoke about the country’s path to membership, noting that since 1993, when Parliament adopted a Resolution on the country’s accession to NATO, North Macedonia has tackled many challenges and actively contributed to peace missions alongside the armies of other members of the Alliance, eventually reaching a point where it is a respected and valued member of NATO today, “with its own seat on the decision-making table and as a factor of stability in the Western Balkans”.

“The country’s NATO accession was secured with reforms and with the Prespa Agreement,” said Xhaferi, describing them as “wise and brave statesmanlike decisions of the Government at the time”. He said that membership in the Alliance has brought together citizens from different ethnicities and different political affiliations.

Xhaferi stressed that by being a member of the Alliance, “North Macedonia is among the most developed democracies in the world and plays a part in keeping the peace for over one billion people”.

“I believe that all citizens are proud to see the flag of North Macedonia in front of the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. It is a picture of the history and the future in one. I am proud that we managed to write such history. Today, North Macedonia is a valued member of the Alliance, not only do we live with stability and certainty, but we are also a factor of stability in the Western Balkans,” said Xhaferi.

Considering the ongoing global crises, Xhaferi said “all the difficult decisions that led to our current NATO memberships are shown to have been the right decisions”.

“We watch and hear the horrors in the world, but without fearing for ourselves because we know that NATO is the greatest security guarantee. This shows that every sacrifice we made was worth it,” said Xhaferi, adding that NATO is even more united, with a clear vision for the Alliance with the accession of Finland and Sweden in the past two years.

Xhaferi noted that membership doesn’t only bring privileges to the country, but also obliges it to get stronger so that “we can be more resilient and able to face the new defense challenges”.

“Being prepared for the deterrence and defense policy doesn’t only mean new equipment and budget, but also active training of army members. The Army’s capabilities are constantly being treated as a priority, with this the goal of its existence is being fulfilled,” the PM added.

The session was also addressed by Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani who stressed that membership in NATO over the past four years has contributed to the maintaining of the country’s stability. He said it came at the right time, “before the beginning of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine”.

“We can imagine what the situation would’ve been like in the region if we weren’t a NATO member, in these circumstances of Russian imperial ambitions. Ukraine is only a station of Russia’s ambition, and the Western Balkans would be one of those stations,” said Osmani, underlining the country’s contribution in ensuring stability and assistance for Ukraine. He also noted the participation of the country’s Army in other missions and the fact that North Macedonia has reached the target of 2 percent of GDP spending on defense.

Regarding the 75th anniversary of the establishment of NATO, the Foreign Minister said Alliance’s open-door policy is one of its most successful policies.

“I want to voice my satisfaction with the accessions of Sweden and Finland. We are no longer the newest member. With their defensive capacities the role of NATO and all allies will surely be strengthened. But European integration is also a security issue, so the EU too will have to continue with the open-door policy,” said Osmani.

On March 27, 2020, North Macedonia became the thirtieth member of the Alliance, 27 years after the Parliament unanimously adopted a Resolution defining NATO and EU membership as the country’s foreign policy priorities.

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