Delegations from the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Army, led by the Deputy Minister of Defence Admir Shabani and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Major General Azim Nuredin, participated today, 27 August 2026, in the flag-raising ceremony for the member states of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG), officially marking the activation of the headquarters of this brigade in Istanbul, Republic of Turkiye.
The ceremony included the handover of the position of SEEBRIG Commander, with Brigadier General Ivan Malamov from the Republic of Bulgaria assuming the position from the outgoing Commander, Brigadier General Bilbil Bitri from the Republic of Albania.
These two events marked the beginning of the second six-year period during which the SEEBRIG Headquarters will be stationed in the Republic of Turkiye.
Previously, the SEEBRIG Headquarters was hosted by the Republic of North Macedonia. During the six-year period in which the SEEBRIG Headquarters was stationed at the barracks “Boro Menkov” in Kumanovo, the Army provided full institutional and logistic support for its operations and actively contributed with staff personnel and declared units.
