Sekerinska: Greatest success regarding NATO membership is that the first reactions came from the country’s neighbors

Sekerinska said that the greatest success regarding North Macedonia’s NATO membership is that the first reactions and ratification of the Accession Protocol came from the country’s neighbors, noting that Slovenia was the first to initiate the ratification procedure, followed by the other countries, while the whole process is unfolding at a surprising speed.

“I’d like to extend gratitude to all countries for expediting their ratification processes and say that we also share an ambitious agenda, not because we think that it is the most important thing in the world, but because we believe that good examples should be appropriately appreciated,” Sekerinska said, adding that she is also expecting the Hungarian Government to start the ratification on Wednesday and finalize it before the start of the European elections.

National NATO coordinator Stevo Pendarovski said that the NATO membership defined North Macedonia’s future, gave it international legitimacy, and confirmed its borders, and among the greatest benefits is the exchange of information in the area of today’s key security threats such as cyber crime, illegal migration, as well as the fake news  phenomena that affected the elections and political processes in the U.S., France, and Germany, and will also affect these processes in North Macedonia.

Ahead of the debate the Faculty of Security and the Diplomatic Club signed a memo of cooperation, and the function of NATO Contact Point Embassy in North Macedonia was formally passed from Croatia’Ambassador Daniela Barisic to Slovenian Ambassador to the country Milan Jazbec. The Slovenian Embassy  is to serve as NATO Contact Point until North Macedonia becomes a full-fledged NATO member.