Armed Forces and National Unity Day was celebrated last night in North Macedonia with a solemn reception opened by Italian Ambassador Andrea Silvestri and Defence Attaché Col. Cristian Margheriti. The ceremony - the Embassy reported in a note - was attended by Defence Minister Vlado Misajlovski, Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Azim Nuredin, senior officials of the civil, military and religious authorities of North Macedonia, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and military attachés present in Skopje.
In his address, Ambassador Silvestri recalled the historical origin and significance of the anniversary, highlighting the importance of the memory of the sacrifice of Italian soldiers in national history and the enduring link between security and peace, especially in the current world context, characterised by wars such as the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East. "With today's day we intend to reaffirm the crucial role of the women and men of the armed forces today in the protection of the values of democracy and freedom, both through service in defence of the national territory, and through deployment in EU, UN and NATO missions where Italy is the second country in terms of the number of military personnel deployed, and in this regard we are very pleased that North Macedonia is an ally and partner country, siding with peace, freedom and security."
Highlighting the commitment of the Italian Armed Forces in security and peacekeeping missions around the world, the Ambassador dwelt in particular on our contingents in KFOR and UNIFIL (where Italy is the largest contributor) and on the Battlegroup deployed in Bulgaria to increase the Alliance's deterrence capacity along the eastern European flank, pointing out that in these three cases Macedonian units also operate under Italian command: a concrete example of the shared values and objectives in cooperation with North Macedonia to ensure security, in the Western Balkans and other theatres.
Mr. Silvestri also recalled the breadth of bilateral cooperation in the defence sector, which in recent months has been enriched with new important instruments, such as the bilateral agreement on Air Policing within the framework of NATO, the protocol on cooperation in the field of rotary wing the agreement on the purchase of new helicopters for civil and military use by the Macedonian armed forces, and finally the Agreement on Military Mobility within the Pan-European Corridor VIII, concluded in Washington last July between the Ministers of Italy, Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, and to which Romania was also recently added.
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