Last year, after around thirty years of long-standing negotiations, North Macedonia became the XNUMXth member of the Atlantic Alliance. On the occasion of the first anniversary, Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska was invited to the NATO Defense College in Rome for a "lecture of opportunity" to the students of the Senior Course.
After the welcome greetings from the commander of the College, General Olivier Rittimann, the minister addressed an intense speech to the assembled audience, recalling from the beginning how the participation of military and civil officers from his country has been numerous over the years.
"It is a very great privilege as Minister of Defense of a country that has benefited a lot from this Alliance, to speak here
before you, not only as a center of knowledge and military cooperation, but also as an institution in which one is developed
culture of critical thinking, a crucial element these days. "
The minister then shared with those present the path his country has taken to become a member of NATO. A long and tortuous process that lasted 30 years, but finally resulted in the hoped-for success, and from which the Minister wanted to share above all the two most important lessons: the importance of exercising the right leadership and the ability to change.
“We have struggled for three decades to become a NATO member. Our ambitions towards the Atlantic Alliance arose in the early XNUMXs from the protracted Yugoslav wars and the commitment of this new country to plan, decide and act on the basis of Western values. We have been extremely patient, thirty years is a long time. "
The event of the first anniversary of North Macedonia's accession to NATO was the other major topic addressed by the minister, in office since 2017: “In less than three years we have managed to transform a divided country, at war with its neighbors and with itself. A country where progress was not even contemplated, where the media were controlled or scared. We have managed to transform it into a country of free citizens, which has shown openness to its neighboring neighbors, and which manages to solve one problem after another. "
“We are investing a lot of resources in a training area in the central area of North Macedonia which, according to US experts, is currently considered the best on the European continent in terms of size, security, capacity and border management. This area represents a very great resource, but it will not pay if it is considered only as a resource for the Macedonian armed forces, which is why we want to develop it as a NATO resource. It is an investment and capability that will strengthen NATO's southern flank and contribute to the benefit of all allies. "
The conference was followed by a rich questioning session with NDC trainees.
