NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski of North Macedonia on Tuesday (18 February 2020) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and discussed with him the accession process of North Macedonia to NATO.

Mr. Stoltenberg said that NATO is looking forward to welcoming North Macedonia in the Alliance in the coming weeks. Noting that North Macedonia has been participating in all NATO meetings as an invitee after the Accession Protocol was signed by all NATO Allies in February of 2019, he said that once all Allies have ratified the Accession Protocol, North Macedonia will become the 30th member of the Alliance.

The NATO Secretary General said that membership in NATO will be good for stability and prosperity in North Macedonia and will contribute to the security of the Western Balkans and of the whole Euro-Atlantic area. Mr. Stoltenberg stressed that North Macedonia’s accession to NATO demonstrates that commitment to reforms pay off, and that NATO’s door remains open.