Today and tomorrow (5 and 6 March), a team from the Ministry led by State Secretary Elizabeta Chupovska Ristova and a team from NATO led by the Director of Defence Planning at the Alliance, Karl Ford, will hold the regular annual bilateral defence talks.
At the opening of the bilateral consultations, State Secretary Chupovska-Ristova emphasized that the country is fully committed to the development of defence capacities and the fulfilment of NATO's Capability Targets.
"The army is being equipped according to the plans, a fact that is confirmed by this year's defence budget, which is the largest so far and amounts to 358 million euros. From the defence budget, we are allocating 32.5% for modernization and equipping, which is 10 million euros more for this purpose than last year. This shows our dedication to action," said Chupovska-Ristova.
The talks will cover several key topics in the defence, including defence plans, finances, and human resources.
Bilateral defence discussions with the Alliance are held annually, as part of the framework of the NATO defence planning process.
