Today (21 April 2015) at the General Staff of ARM high level delegation of the Armed Forces (AF) of the Republic of Bulgaria led by the Chief of the General Staff Vice Admiral Rumen Nikolov was welcomed with high military honours. The delegation will stay on a three day visit to ARM.
In his press announcement the Chief of GS of ARM Lieutenant General Gorancho Koteski defined the cooperation with the AF of the Republic of Bulgaria as highly valuable and it reflected the excellent neighborly relations between both countries. Expressing his gratitude to the guest for the unreserved support the Republic of Macedonia and ARM had received, General Koteski also said that he expected the cooperation between the two armies to expand with the possibilities for training of the service personnel of the Bulgarian AF at the Pilot Training Centre, the Regional Centre for Public Relations, as well as conducting exercises at the army training area “Krivolak”. The Chief of ARM GS highlighted that the support given to ARM by the AF of the Republic of Bulgaria at regional initiatives and forums was a firm incentive for strengthening the safety in the region.
Admiral Nikolov said that the cooperation between the two armies proved to be successful and stressed that in the future it would intensify with the participation of cadets from the Republic of Bulgaria at the “Summer Camp” at the army training area “Krivolak”, as well as in the area of military and technical cooperation. The Chief of the AF of the Republic of Bulgaria suggested the possibility for training of the ARM service personnel at the training area “Novo Selo” in the Republic of Bulgaria, where except the service personnel of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, the armies of USA and Romania also conduct their training. The guest from the Republic of Bulgaria stressed that his country would continue to support the Republic of Macedonia and ARM in the process of acquiring NATO membership, which is well deserved.
The Minister of Defence Zoran Jolevski at the meeting with the Chief of GS of the Bulgarian AF expressed his satisfaction about the defence cooperation with the Republic of Bulgaria, which in the future would increase. Minister Jolevski also thanked the Admiral for the support given by the Republic of Bulgaria related to the Euro-Atlantic integrations of our country.
At the meeting at the GS of ARM, beside promotion of the bilateral cooperation, the transformation of ARM and the experiences gained from the international peacekeeping mission were also discussed.
During his stay in the Republic of Macedonia the Chief of GS of the Bulgarian AF will visit some of the commands and units of ARM and learn more about their missions, tasks and training, and there will be an opportunity to visit some of the cultural and historic monuments in the Republic of Macedonia.
