Macedonia's Premier Nikola Gruevski and Albania's Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli held talks Thursday in Skopje, addressing defense issues and projects, possibilities for advancing the bilateral cooperation and exchanging of experiences in favor of further bolstering of the relations between the two countries.

Gruevski reaffirmed Macedonia's commitment to join NATO, highlighting the country's active contribution to NATO-led peace missions. Macedonia is also active NATO partner in fulfilling the Alliance's goals, he added.

Gruevski underlined the significance for exploiting the potentials of both countries for bolstering the cooperation in the sphere of defense and other sectors of mutual interest.

Kodheli reaffirmed Albania's support of Macedonia's accession to NATO, saying that the country has met the membership standards. Albania, she said, is ready for supporting and realizing regional projects, which will contribute to the integration processes of the countries and the prosperity of the entire region.

Gruevski and Kodheli expressed readiness for the governments of both countries to hold joint session, which will contribute to advancing the relations and offer possibility for sharing opinions on various projects of mutual interest.