Skopje, 17 October 2024 (MIA) — Defense Minister Vlado Misajlovski is taking part in a two-day defense ministerial meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council in Brussels. This is NATO's first high-level meeting since the Washington Summit and the first meeting chaired by NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the main topics for discussion at the sessions are deterrence and defense, support to Ukraine, and cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

The aim of the meeting is to review the implementation of the Washington Summit decisions and bolster the alliance capacities to respond to growing threats and challenges, the release said.

Earlier on Thursday, Misajlovski attended a meeting of member countries of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, organized by the United States and chaired by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Misajlovski said dealing with terrorism remained essential for collective defense and reaffirmed the continued cooperation of the Macedonian government with the allies.

Participating in the session with global partners discussing current challenges in global security for the first time were a high representative of the EU as well as the defense ministers of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

According to the release, a special session will be dedicated to strengthening cooperation with Ukraine and strengthening global partnerships. 

The NATO-Ukraine Council session, in the presence of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, will discuss the new NATO command coordinating the security assistance and training for Ukraine, financial support and other initiatives.

On the sidelines of the Thursday sessions, Minister Misajlovski held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Albania, Norway and Slovenia, and pledged to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation. mr/