North Macedonia has the same values as its allies and is ready to contribute to protection of security and promotion of cooperation, North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani said Wednesday, on the second day of the NATO North Atlantic Council meeting at the level of Foreign Affairs Ministers.
One of the main topics of discussion during Wednesday’s meeting, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release, was further development of the NATO 2030 initiative and ways the organization can continue to adapt to security and growing threats-related changes.
Trans-Atlantic partnership was also high on the meeting agenda, with member-states agreeing that trans-Atlantic relations remain a cornerstone of collective defence and play a key role in political cohesion.
Minister decided to open at the next NATO summit a new chapter in trans-Atlantic relations and give new direction for the future of the Alliance until and after 2030, as well as further strengthen NATO’s political dimension.
During the meeting, they accepted recommendations to update NATO’s Strategic Concept.
At Wednesday’s third session, ministers underlined the need for strengthening strategic cooperation between NATO and EU.
“As in the case with NATO membership, EU perspective contributes to stability and security in the region. We can’t let ambivalence result in divergence, which could easily be used by outside actors. Therefore, the Western Balkan’s EU accession is crucial,” FM Osmani said.
Regarding Afghanistan, ministers stressed full support to efforts aimed at strengthening the peace process, noting that only a solution resulting from negotiations can ensure sustainable peace and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a platform for international terrorism. They also discussed the Middle East, North Africa, the NATO mission to Iraq, hybrid and security challenges, weapons control, de-weaponization and non-proliferation, as well as the fight against terrorism.
At the margins of Wednesday’s ministerial meeting, Minister Osmani held bilateral meetings with Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva, whose country currently holds the EU Presidency. Besides security challenges, the ministers discussed North Macedonia’s dossier, especially the possibility for finalizing the decision to start accession talks during the Portuguese Presidency.
Moreover, FM Osmani also met on Wednesday with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto and talked about close partnership between NATO and Finland, North Macedonia’s EU agenda and the EU enlargement process, as well as ways to strengthen overall relations and improve political dialogues.
During the NATO North Atlantic Council, Foreign Affairs Misters approved and reviewed several documents on some of the topics of discussion at NATO-level.
