Skopje, 4 November 2021 (MIA) – Minister of Defence Radmila Shekerinska held on Thursday a bilateral meeting with Slovenian counterpart Matej Tonin on the margins of the South-East Europe Defense Ministerial meeting. During the meeting, Ministers set up a program for training of 40 Macedonian firefighters in Slovenia, initiated by Minsiter Shekerinska and named after the region most affected by recent wildfires – Berovo. Firefighting equipment will also be provided as part of the program and training is set to take place in several stages over the next few years. Shekerinska, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release, expressed appreciation that her crisis management cooperation ideas have been accepted and stressed the importance of regional cooperation. “Your participation in this ministerial meeting is crucial for the region, as well as due to the fact that Slovenia currently holds the EU Council presidency. Joint projects, such as the ‘Berovo’ program are important because they represent cooperation in practice,” Shekerinska told Tonin. Minister Tonin stressed that strategic cooperation will also entail expert support. “You have our full support now and in the future, both for strengthening crisis management, as well as for European aspirations. You can always count on our support,” Tonin underlined. Interlocutors also discussed at the meeting the strategic cooperation agreement, which is the final stages, as well as North Macedonia’s participation in the Slovenian contingent as part of increased NATO presence in Latvia and other bilateral defence cooperation issues.