Skopje, 23 July 2021 (MIA) – NATO membership has offered North Macedonia the chance to enrich both defence and political cooperation with countries important for the Alliance and the European Union. We’ll use this opportunity to prove that North Macedonia is a country that keeps its promises, a country that can be counted on and a country that invests in its defence, as well as in the values of the Alliance, Minister of Defence Radmila Shekerinska said in Lisbon on Friday. Shekerinska, who is the first Macedonian Defence Minister to pay an official visit to Portugal in the past 30 years, underlined that multiple successful meetings at ministerial and army level have paved the way towards improved defence relations and greater political cooperation between the two countries. “Portugal was on the first NATO member states to launch the process of ratifying North Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol, a sign of friendly support and an opportunity to enrich bilateral defence cooperation. We also discussed ways to intensify defence cooperation and provide opportunities for greater political collaboration between the two countries,” the Minister said. Shekerinska stressed that a defence cooperation agreement has been initiated and the first steps towards intensifying bilateral defence relations will take place in the form of joint exercises for special forces and in the area of cyber-protection. “We’ve agreed that first steps in regard to defence cooperation will take place in the form of joint exercises for special forces, as well as increased collaboration in the area of cyber-protection, an issues of equal importance for all NATO members,” she noted. In regard to development of cyber defence capacities, Minister Shekerinska visited the NATO Communications and Information Agency in Lisbon and said that Macedonian representatives are attending courses at the center. Moreover, she added that she had an excellent meeting during the visit with her Portuguese counterpart João Gomes Cravinho. “I’m glad we used this opportunity to hold meetings with all relevant deference institutions in Portugal and showed that we have the aspirations, knowledge and interest for greater cooperation,” the Minister concluded.