At today’s ceremony in the barracks “Boro Menkov” in Kumanovo, on the occasion of the handover-takeover of duties: SEDM-Political Military Steering Committee and Coordination Committee Chairmanship, Commander of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade, and the 24th Anniversary of SEEBRIG, the Chief of the Army’s General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski was awarded a plaque for cooperation, as an appreciation for the support given by the Army.
The Chairman of the SEDM-Political Military Committee, the Deputy Defense Minister of Bulgaria, Atanas Zaprianov awarded the recognition.
The South-Eastern Europe Brigade Command, which changes location on a rotating basis, is in Kumanovo barracks from 2020-2026. With this the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, in addition to its units and staff leaders’ participation in SEEBRIG, shows support to this brigade in all segments of functioning and activities.
At today’s ceremony, the SEDM-Political Military Steering Committee and Coordination Committee chairmanship is taken by Simona Cojocaru – State Secretary and Head of the Department for Defense Policy, Planning and International Cooperation in the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The incoming commander of the SEE Brigade, Brigadier General Bilbil Bitri of the Albanian Armed Forces takes over duty from Brigadier General Evangelos Mitroutsikos.
The Deputy Minister of Defense, Tiron Jajaga and the SEDM chairperson had their address at the ceremony, in which the significance of this initiative for the region and beyond was highlighted.
The ceremony was attended by ambassadors, deputy defense ministers, deputy chiefs of defence, the military attachés of the countries participating in the brigade, as well as the mayor of Kumanovo.
The South-Eastern Europe Brigade was established in 1999, on the basis of Regional Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Defense, known as Multinational Peace Forces South Eastern Europe (MPFSEE), which was signed in 1998, in Skopje by the Ministers of Defense of: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Romania and Turkiye.
According to the Brigade Establishment Agreement, the location of the SEEBRIG Command is on a rotation basis, and its hosts so far have been: Plovdiv, Constanta, Istanbul and Larissa.
Units assigned to the Brigade remain at their permanent home base locations and are bound by the principle of dedicated forces for exercises and operations as decided by the participating countries and the corresponding directive from the Political Military Steering Committee (PMSC).
The SEEBRIG Commander is a rotational post taken every three years by a member of the participating countries.
