North Macedonia completes NATO integration, Defense Minister says

She told a news conference that the test period ended with the final integration conference between North Macedonia and NATO and the signing to a declaration on Tuesday. “We have shown that we can meet defined goals even given a very ambitious agenda and deliver expected results,” she said adding that the country will move forward on joint planning with NATO.

North Macedonia began its integration into NATO more than two years ago when it was invited to join and became a full Alliance member in March 2020.

Sekerinska said that the Army of North Macedonia will continue developing through 22 projects to be completed by the year 2028, including the procurement of engineering machinery, combat vehicles, new weapons and protection gear. “The process will continue with the procurement of AA defense equipment, artillery, helicopters by the year 2024 and we are constantly investing in cyber defense,” she said.