The discussion took place at the Ceremonial Hall in the Government of Republic of North Macedonia on 3rd of April 2019 (Wednesday) starting at 12:00 o’clock.



The purpose of the event was to send a strong message to the NATO member states to complete the legal procedures as soon as possible and to ratify the NATO membership protocol, thus the Republic of North Macedonia becomes a full-fledged member state before the NATO Summit which is to be held in December 2019. This event also had an informative character in order to familiarize the wider public and mainly the media with the development and the progress of the country in the past year, in terms of NATO membership, as well as with the activities of the organization in this field.

The keynote address was given by the President of ATA Macedonia, Mr. Ismet Ramadani and, President of the Government, Mr. Zoran Zaev, Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Defense, Ms. Sekerinska Jankovska and H.E. Prof. Dr. Milan Jazbec, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia (as a host of the event).

During the second part, a diplomatic discussion followed where all Ambassadors of the NATO member states in the Republic of North Macedonia and the Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Skopje, Colonel Zoran Jankovic, took part.



Mr. Ismet Ramadani, the President of ATA Macedonia, opened the discussion and welcomed the efforts of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, which contributed our Atlantic idea and commitment to be accomplished and North Macedonia to become the 30th full-fledged member state of NATO. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to the countries that have already ratified the protocol and are a positive example for other member states.



In his address, the President of the Government, Mr. Zoran Zaev emphasized that the membership of our country will additionally contribute to the stability and security in Southeast Europe and will play a key role in creating a new, positive image for the region.

"There is no doubt that NATO membership for our country is a guarantee of a security and stability. In addition, it opens the horizons for greater foresight and a clear future for our political and economic progress, " said the Prime Minister Zaev.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ms. Radmila Sekerinska, stressed in her speech that today's situation when North Macedonia stands before fulfilling its strategic goal of becoming NATO's 30th member state, just a year ago it seemed unrealistic and over-optimistic, but the results and excessive work prove it the opposite.

"We worked hard on domestic reforms, defense reforms and arguments, we managed to convince the biggest skeptics that this country could be transformed, to break out of a crisis situation and offer a model of different behavior in the Balkans," said Minister Sekerinska.
Slovenian Ambassador Mr. Milan Jazbec, who is also a contact NATO ambassador to the country, noted that no country has ever had nine ratifications of the Protocol for joining the Alliance in just two months, as is the case with North Macedonia. For him, this is the best moment for joining in NATO structures, because this is a symbolic year when the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Alliance is celebrated.

The present diplomats in the fruitful discussion expressed unreserved support for the realization of the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the country and the efforts of the Government of North Macedonia to continue the reform processes and to achieve the Euro-Atlantic goals of the country. As a novelty that was shared during the event, was the information from the Polish Ambassador that Poland will ratify the Protocol for NATO Membership of the Republic of North Macedonia the next day.