The delegation of Austrian Armed Forces led by the Chief of General Staff General Othmar Commenda, who paid a two-day official visit to the Republic of Macedonia and the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, today had meetings at ARM General Staff (GS).
Chief of GS of the Republic of Austria, General Commenda, met Chief of GS of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski after being welcomed with high military honors, followed by official talks in the presence of the delegation of the Austrian Armed Forces and representatives of the key personnel from ARM General Staff.
In addition to presenting the ARM mission, the process of transformation and participation in UN, NATO and EU-led peacekeeping missions, the discussions were on topics related to the current security situation in the region, as well as the possibilities for intensifying the mutual military co-operation in several areas of defense, especially the joint training of the special forces of the two armies were considered.
During the talks, General Velichkovski emphasized the importance of this meeting, primarily from the aspect of the exchange of experiences through continuous expert talks in order to determine the possibilities for further intensification of the cooperation. The joint participation of the Common Challenge 2017 exercise, which has already been established in Montenegro, where ARM participates with servicemen from Special Operations Regiment, was given as an example.
General Commenda referred to the contribution ARM provides participating in international peacekeeping missions and exercises, with special emphasis on demonstrated ARM interoperability and standards which proves ARM as a contributor to the collective security. He even more emphasized the role played by ARM in dealing with the migration crisis, which he was briefed about during yesterday’s visit to the southern border of the Republic of Macedonia.
The views expressed during the visit of the highest level of the Austrian Armed Forces, which is one of the armies supporter of ARM, is an acknowledgment of the devoted fulfillment of the obligations of ARM and the achieved standards in the training and interoperability with the armies of NATO member countries and an expression of support for the strategic determination of the Republic of Macedonia and the ARM for membership in the Euro-Atlantic integrations.