Ohrid, 27 August 2021 (MIA) – North Macedonia and Slovenia have excellent cooperation in the defense sector, which has now been elevated with our NATO accession. We started the meeting by expressing deep concern and condemning the events that took place in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday - attacks in which soldiers and civilians lost their lives. We’re condemning this unjustified, unacceptable, incomprehensible violence and as members of NATO, we will take a stance against these developments in Afghanistan, Minister of Defense Radmila Shekerinska said after meeting with her Slovenian counterpart Matej Tonin. Shekerinska noted that they also discussed the condition of citizens and military personnel in Afghanistan. “North Macedonia managed to bring its officers and soldiers home in time. We announced the ending of our engagement in Afghanistan in June, and literally every single army member, alongside the medical team that should have been in Afghanistan until September according to initial plans, successfully returned home in June,” Shekerinska underlined. She added that the government also did all it could to secure the safe return of Macedonian nationals who worked in Afghanistan. The Minister expressed belief that current events in Afghanistan are not only a threat to the security of the civilians and military structures that are still there, but overall, they are a threat to the region, with consequences that can be felt on European soil. Shekerinska and Tonin shared their estimates that the conditions in Afghanistan may signify a wave of pressure on European borders through illegal migration, and that the EU and the countries in this region will have to strengthen their capacities in order to guarantee their own stability and the safety of their borders. She also pointed out that North Macedonia and Slovenia have a history of highly intensive joint drills in the defense sector and announced plans for joint participation in NATO’s Latvia mission in 2022. The Minister also expects that North Macedonia will be able to send the first officers and soldiers to the mission in June 2022, to accompany their Slovenian colleagues. Shekerinska expressed gratitude for the huge support Slovenia has provided for us over the past 30 years, as well as for the aid Slovenia provided in putting out the fires that affected North Macedonia. Help from Slovenia, she stressed, arrived in one day, with firefighters, equipment and firefighting vehicles heading for the Maleshevo region. “We won’t forget this act of kindness. A friend in need is a friend indeed, and Slovenia proved to be a true friend,” Shekerinska said. From Ohrid, Minister Shekerinska and her Slovenian colleague will go to Berovo, where they will meet with Mayor Zvonko Pekevski, who will hand the Slovenian Minister a plaque for the Joint Forces of Civil Protection of Slovenia, as a token of thanks for the quick reaction in dealing with the wildfires. She also said that they discussed the fires in great detail, as well as protection systems. “The government decided the system needs serious reform and the Ministry of Defense has the task to work on draft laws to reform not just the funding of this system, but also the way it works,” Shekerinska said, stressing the importance of the readiness of firefighting units, and the necessity of training, knowledge, experience etc. Interlocutors decided at the meeting that both ministries will work closer together to reform the system, with a special focus on firefighting. dk/mm