On Monday, the head of the MoD Tomasz Siemoniak met with the minister of defence of the Republic of Macedonia Zoran Jolevski who has been paying an official visit to Poland – as the Ministry of National Defence informs.

The MoD states that during the conducted talks the ministers expressed satisfaction with their previous military cooperation. At the same time they emphasised that both sides have the potential that can be used to intensify the contacts, particularly with regard to cooperation concerning the defence industry, technical modernisation, military exercises and pilot trainings.

The Minister of National Defence of Macedonia, Zoran Jolevski, underlined that exercises with the participation of the Polish soldiers could be conducted on the Macedonian training grounds. Referring to the technical modernisation, he stressed that the Macedonian army was interested in the participation of the Polish defence industry in that process.

The heads of the ministries of defence exchanged their views on the expectations towards the North Atlantic Treaty summit in Newport (Wales) in September. The Minister Tomasz Siemoniak emphasised that Poland would actively support the Republic of Macedonia on its way towards the NATO.

The head of the Polish ministry of defence also talked about the possible participation of Macedonia in the EU Visegrad Battlegroup, in which Poland acts as a framework nation. Monday talks were also an opportunity to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the Balkans.

In conclusion, Minister Siemoniak expressed gratitude for the participation of the Macedonian soldiers in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and for the Macedonian support for the Polish soldiers, who have been serving in the Balkansfor many years.

During the meeting the ministers signed the statement of bilateral cooperation – as the Ministry of National Defence informs.