The Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps in Italy, Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, paid a working visit to the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Ministry of Defence today.
After being welcomed, General D’Addario held meetings with his host, the Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant Colonel General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska, followed by official talks in the presence of the delegation from the NATO Corps and the personnel from the General Staff of the Army.
At the meeting with the Chief of General Staff and the Minister of Defence, the role of the NATO Rapid Deployable Force was discussed, as well as our involvement in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the countries that contribute to this force, thus making our contribution to strengthening the collective security of NATO.
At the working meeting at the General Staff, the delegation had the opportunity to get acquainted with the current processes and activities taking place in the Army in the field of development of capabilities through equipping and modernization, our contribution to NATO operations, as well as the plans for developing the capacities of ATA Krivolak. The opportunities for mutual cooperation and involvement of our army members in the use of modern systems in preparatory training were also considered.
At the meeting, General Gjurchinovski emphasized that the capabilities related to the participation of the NATO forces will be improved and developed for a strengthened field presence, where this corps is also included.
During the discussion, General D’Addario stated that further joint activities will contribute even more to the development of our capabilities, training and interoperability when engaging in NATO operations.
During the visit, the delegation of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps will also visit the Special Forces Battalion in the “Ilinden” barracks where they will get to know the capacities and capabilities of this unit and will attend a military demonstration exercise. Moreover, General D’Addario will have a meeting with the Commander of the Operations Command, Brigadier General Besnik Emini.
The visit is aimed at further intensifying the cooperation with this command of NATO forces for rapid intervention, and it was initiated during last year’s visit of General Gjurchinovski to this command in Milan and the Armed Forces of Italy.
