The meeting of the North Atlantic Council and the Committee for Integration of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO ended with a joint press conference of Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Prime Minister Zaev stressed at the press conference that it is a great honor and privilege that this joint meeting was held, where the representatives of the Committee for Integration of the Republic of Macedonia in NATO and the ambassadors of the NATO member countries in the North Atlantic Council reviewed the country’s progress on the path to full-fledged membership in the alliance.

Our national NATO integration structure tirelessly works to achieve the necessary results in line with the Program for the continuation of reforms. Special emphasis is placed on achieving the highest level of institutional readiness when the country will officially be promoted as the 30th full member state, said Prime Minister Zaev at a press conference.

Zaev stressed that the government managed to resolve all open bilateral issues and make concrete democratic progress in society, especially with regard to the rule of law, building strong and functional institutions. Appropriate and necessary steps were also taken to reform the intelligence agencies and security services in a transparent and inclusive manner with domestic and international partners and stakeholders who again gained the authentic role of serving the safety and security of citizens and the interests of the country and its allies.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his statement to the media commended the progress of the country, confirmed at the North Atlantic Council meeting with the Committee for Integration of the Republic of Macedonia in NATO, adding that this first historic meeting of the council in Skopje was used to discuss the future topics of cooperation on missions dedicated to international peace and stability.