Today, the Chief of General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski participated at the 17th Balkan Countries Chiefs of Defence Conference (Forum “B-9”) which took place in Durres, the Republic of Albania.
The topic of the annual conference was “Youth engagement in defence security: Promotion of youth involvement in defence and security issues, encouraging innovation and addressing the challenges of attracting and retaining personnel in the Armed Forces”, as well as the annual reports from the working groups on asymmetric threats, military education, training and coordination.
In his address, General Gjurchinovski emphasized the importance of mutual cooperation and mutual support in all areas that are important for the armed forces and the security of the region.
At the conference, General Gjurchinovski held separate bilateral meetings with the Chiefs of Defence of all member countries, where they discussed the broadening of the mutual military cooperation, the current and future joint activities.
General Gjurcinovski also had a meeting with the Deputy Commander of the NATO Joint Force Command Naples, Lieutenant General Stephen Kelsey, where they discussed our contribution to the international operations and exercises under NATO leadership.
By signing the joint statement at the conference, the Balkan countries Chiefs of Defence confirmed their firm commitment to expand and strengthen the military cooperation.
Besides General Gjurchinovski, the conference was also attended by the Chiefs of Defence of the Armed Forces of: Albania, Major General Arben Kingji, Bulgaria, Admiral Emil Eftimov, Greece, General Dimitrios Choupis, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lieutenant General Gojko Knezevic, Serbia, General Milan Mojsilovikj, Turkey, General Metin Gyurak and Montenegro, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevikj, as well as observers from the armies of Croatia and Slovenia.
The Chief of Cabinet of the European Union Military Committee, Major General Johann Frank also attended the conference as a guest.
The President and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces, Bajram Begaj and the Minister of Defence of Albania, Niko Peleshi held the opening speeches.
The goal of the conference, better known as Forum “B-9”, is to strengthen the military cooperation of the Balkan countries by finding a way to resolve security challenges, risks and threats in the region together. The activities resulting from the conference are coordination of joint training and education, through which the necessary level of mutual interoperability is reached.
The Forum “B-9” was founded on the initiative of Greece and Turkey in 2006. The initiative was officially established with the signing of the “Terms of Reference” by the Balkan countries Chiefs of Defense on May 10, 2007 in Brussels.
