SKOPJE, North Macedonia - On the occasion of North Macedonia's one-year membership in NATO, an official ceremony took place on March 27, 2021 in the capital of Skopje in the presence of Radmila Šekerinska Jankovska, Minister of Defence, and Admiral Robert P. Burke, Commander Allied Joint Force Headquarters Naples and international guests.
As part of a military parade, North Macedonian military helicopters and Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft conducted a flyover in honour of NATO's 30th and youngest member Nation.
“On this first anniversary of North Macedonia’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, we can see the security benefit this membership offers: right now our Ally Greece is providing fighter jets to safeguard our airspace on a bilateral basis,” said Valentin Ivanoski, Head of the Military Aviation Authority from the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of North Macedonia.
On this first anniversary of North Macedonia’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, we can see the security benefit this membership offers
“Our Air Force and Alliance experts are working to establish the basis for integrating our air surveillance and control network into the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System. Once this is achieved, North Macedonia will soon be firmly locked into the NATO Air Policing arrangements that have existed for 60 years showcasing Alliance collective defence and the creed of ‘one for all – all for one’,” he concluded.
North Macedonia has contributed to NATO collective security including troop deployments to NATO’s in Resolute Support Mission Afghanistan and Kosovo Force and participation in NATO exercises