Participation of the Army Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski at the 16th Balkan Countries Chiefs of Defence Conference.
The Chief of General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski is participating at the sixteenth Balkan Countries Chiefs of Defence Conference (Forum B-9), held today in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The topic of the conference is “Regional military connectivity and military mobility, as a highlight of the partnership in the Balkans-exploring innovative ways of integration and cooperation”, where further enhancement of military cooperation in order to improve regional security is discussed.
In accordance with the conference program, in the course of the discussions, the Chiefs of Defence presented the annual reports of the working groups in the field of asymmetric warfare, military education, training and coordination, as well as the planned activities for the coming year.
In his address, General Gjurchinovski referred to the significance of this Forum, which as one of the pillars of joint military cooperation has an significant role in regional security. Speaking about current security challenges, he emphasized the importance of promoting mutual military cooperation.
At the end of the conference, the Chiefs of Defence will confirm with a joint statement the commitment to expand and strengthen mutual military cooperation in the conditions of current security challenges, as well as to find ways and opportunities to advance mutual strategic activities that are of interest to the regional security.
Besides the Chief of Defence of the Armed Forces of Bulgaria as the host, the “B-9” Forum is also attended by the Chiefs of Defence of member countries armies: the Republic of North Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, and Croatia and Slovenia as observers. Special guests at this conference are the Commander of the European Union Military Committee, and the Deputy Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples.
The aim of the conference, known as “B-9” Forum, is to strengthen the military cooperation of the Balkan countries by finding a way to jointly resolve security challenges, risks and threats in the region. Most of the activities of the conference consist of coordinating joint training and education, that is, through the activities, the necessary level of interoperability is reached, which enables joint activities in different situations.
The “B-9” Forum was founded on the initiative of Greece and Turkey, with the signing of a joint declaration by the Chiefs of Defence of the Balkan countries on May 10, 2007 in Brussels. Last year, 2022, the Republic of North Macedonia hosted the conference, which is organized on a rotating basis.
