The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski was briefed on the situation and implementation of the plans and tasks of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia that affect the combat readiness of the Army, at the General Staff of the Army and the Ministry of Defence today.
During the briefing on Army combat readiness, the Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Director of the General Staff, Major General Zoran Mileski presented the Army current condition in functional areas which are part of combat readiness, to the President Pendarovski, the Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska, the Deputy Minister of Defence, Army generals and representatives of the President’s Cabinet and the Ministry of Defence.
The completed tasks and achievements of the Army in 2022 were presented to the military superiors, as well as the key tasks for 2023, and the following areas were covered: personnel management and moral, operations in country and abroad, training and exercises, logistic support, military planning and structure of forces, signals and communication, budget and CIMIC.
During the briefing, it was emphasized that, in the current year, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia has successfully implemented all the planned tasks and combat readiness is at the required level. The readiness of the Army commands and units was characterised by timely completion of activities, with the planned dynamics in the process of transformation and implementation of the modernization plan, carrying out training according to current security challenges and NATO standards, as well as increasing participation in operations abroad.
Minister Slavjanka Petrovska, in her review during the briefing, emphasized that the development of defence is clearly seen through the increase of the defence budget in the last few years. “I am happy to say that we are keeping the predicted growth rate for 2023 as well, when we will allocate 274 million for defence, which is 1.85% of GDP. We are firmly determined to reach 2% of GDP in 2024, not only due to the Alliance, but for our Army, our personnel, their equipment and their standard. In addition, I am glad that, 33% of the 2023 budget is allocated for modernization and equipping, which changes the face of the Army as a whole. Our Army is a NATO Army, and therefore we do not deviate from continuously changing the image of our servicemen, who must have new and modern equipment and a high standard.
All these steps taken are in the direction of increasing the combat readiness of the Army, which guarantees a peaceful, safe and stable state and a strong collective defence in the NATO Alliance,” said Minister Petrovska.
At the briefing, President Pendarovski emphasized that in 2022 the members of the Army proved their professionalism, dedication and readiness. In the year when we marked the 30th Anniversary of its formation, said President Pendarovski, the Army once again justified the high trust it has among the Macedonian citizens. In addition, President Pendarovski pointed out that the implementation of the large-scale military exercise “Quick Response 22” at the Krivolak Military Training Area demonstrated the capacity of the Army to contribute to the collective defence, safety and security of NATO, in a time of challenges after the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
President Pendarovski reaffirmed his commitment to further investing in the modernization and equipping of the Army and achieving the set goal of allocating 2% of GDP to defence.
The most significant activities of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia during the jubilee year are the participation in thirty international exercises in the country and abroad, among which the exercises “Flash-22” where the Light Infantry Battalion was evaluated and “Swift Response 22” in which about 4,600 members from eight NATO countries participated, and during which over 700 parachute jumps were performed.
Regarding the participation in international operations, members of the Army participate in the operations: Altea in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where this year we increased the participation by one infantry platoon; UNIFIL in Lebanon where we participate with staff officers; KFOR in Kosovo, where we participate with two security platoons and staff personnel; EUTM in the Central African Republic and the NATO mission NMI in Iraq with one representative each as a staff element. From this year in June 2022, we started contributing within the framework of the NATO missions Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Latvia, etc. and Enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA) in Bulgaria and Romania.
The Combat Readiness Briefing is a regular annual obligation of the Chief of General Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, in order to present the situation that affects Army combat readiness and the planned activities for the next year.
