Skopje, 11 april 2023 (MIA) - The Parliament's Defense and Security Committee forwarded Tuesday the Defense Capabilities Development Plan 2023-2032 for further parliamentary procedure.

Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska elaborated the plan, which gives a projection of the defense and military capabilities of the Ministry of Defense and the Army while considering the sector's strategic documents.

"Through its involvement in the process of NATO defense planning, North Macedonia has undertaken specific tasks for development of capabilities and capacities that are required in meeting the three key tasks of the alliance - collective defense, crisis management and operational security. The need for transformation of our defense system has been imposed following the country's full-fledged membership in NATO. This transformation is expected to turn into an organizational generator of national processes that support a comprehensive allied dynamics and mobility, said Minister Petrovska.

One of the more important areas of attention, she added, is the system of resilience and readiness, which will be properly defined, set up and integrated in the entire defense infrastructure in the coming period.

"In this context, the long-term plan includes dynamic procurement of contemporary equipment for the purposes of national security but also in meeting the NATO capability goals. The main objective of this plan is to establish a financially viable and sustainable defense sector, and a modern and flexible Army that will be capable to carry out defense missions in line with the Constitution, national strategic documents and tasks arising from the NATO Strategic Concept," said Petrovska.

For this purpose, she noted, the long-term plan is based on projected stable budgeting of the defense sector, reaching two percent of the GDP by 2024 and over 20 percent of the defense budget to be spent or invested in modernization of the Army.