The President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev and the Deputy President of the Government and Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska, together with the President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, the Chief of General Staff, Vasko Gjurchinovski and the US Ambassador Kate Byrnes, had a meeting with Admiral James Foggo, Commander of the United States Naval Force Europe – Naval Forces Africa and Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples. The meeting took place on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
“By visiting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, one of the most impressive samples of power and complex system for efficient operations for safeguarding security, peace and safety in the world and by meeting Admiral James Foggo, we completed the image for the most powerful military-security alliance in the world and for the fact that North Macedonia belongs to the strongest system of collective security uniting almost 1 billion citizens from the democratic world. The strongest countries in the world are our allies; North Macedonia is a partner and an ally with all of them” – said Prime Minister Zaev in his media statement.
PM Zaev underlined that the meeting with Admiral Foggo on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier is a strong signal for the active participation of our country in the global processes which bring peace throughout the world, as well as in the processes in which, together with the allies, we tackle all conventional and hybrid threats on safety and security.
“We are becoming a NATO member in an exceptionally geo-strategic moment, a moment of utmost importance for the zone of influence in SEE, Black sea basin and the Mediterranean Sea through which three continents is being controlled. However, the support of our strategic partners, especially of the USA and other members of the NATO Alliance, has created conditions for undisputed membership invitations. We are part of the security shield of the most powerful military alliance in the world. North Macedonia is a factor of stability in the region; it guarantees security. NATO is the strongest guarantee for our stability, security, inviolability of the boundaries and protection of territorial integrity. And security and safety are the foundation of each economy; it is the base for foreign investments, for higher salaries, better jobs, for prosperity”, said PM Zaev while adding that the guarantee of our security and stability should stimulate all factors in the country to invest their efforts in implementing reforms, for democracy, for rule of law and for compliance of human rights and freedoms, as values shared by all NATO member-states.
The Deputy President of the Government and Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska, in her media statement said that the presence of our delegation on one of the Truman aircraft carriers which is part of the NATO fleet in the Mediterranean shows what this membership shall mean for our country.
“This Truman aircraft carrier is already part of our defence. The aircrafts on the carrier, the aircrafts in the base, are also part of our defence. All of them, more than 5,000 soldiers on the aircraft carrier, are part of our defence, just as our capacities are already part of the NATO system. This is what we fought for and our country has invested a lot in this”, underlined Minister Shekerinska, underpinning what it means to be part of the biggest and strongest military-political alliance.
“Now it is our chance to reap the fruits from NATO membership, to have more chances for domestic and foreign investments, to create more chances for jobs and higher salaries and to show that only a safe country can create prosperous future”, said Shekerinska.
“USS Harry S. Truman is one of the 10 aircraft carriers from the Nimitz class. It is 333 meters long and it displaces 100,000 tons. They use nuclear power and are developing speed of 30 knots (56 km/h) and a maximum speed of 260,000 shp. Since it operates on nuclear power, they can be active at sea for more than 20 years before having need of new energy, while the working cycle is over 50 years.
This generation of aircrafts is the biggest military ships owned by the USA and when on sea, they are accompanied by other ships (Carrier Strike Group). The Nimitz aircraft carriers are equipped with highly developed technological equipment and weaponry (for defence and offence) and a crew of 6,250 military personnel, including the pilots; it can accommodate 90 aircrafts (planes and helicopters) and it has a runway of 1.8 ha.
This is the first aircraft carrier in the world used for testing operations for unmanned aircraft (military drones) in 2012. It was commissioned in 1998 and has so far won 17 prizes.
The President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev and the Deputy President of the Government and Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska, visited the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier together with PM of Bulgaria, Boyko Boriosv and the Minister of Defence in the Bulgarian Government Krasimir Karakachanov.
Statement of the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev while travelling with Admiral James Foggo on the USS Harry S. Truman Aircraft Carrier
Last week in London we felt what it means to be part of the family of the NATO member-states. We stood shoulder to shoulder with the political leaders of the Alliance.
Today we are visiting the aircraft carrier “USS Harry S. Truman which is one of the most impressive samples of power and complex system for efficient operations for safeguarding security, peace and safety throughout the world.
Today North Macedonia is part of the most powerful military and political world force.
By meeting Admiral James Foggo, Commander of the United States Naval Force Europe – Naval Forces Africa and Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples we completed the image for the most powerful military-security alliance in the world and for the fact that North Macedonia belongs to the strongest system of collective security uniting almost 1 billion citizens from the democratic world.
We are here because the strongest countries in the world are our allies; North Macedonia is a partner and an ally with all of them.
This visit is a strong signal that active participation in global processes gives us chance to bring peace to the world. These are processes in which together with the allies we tackle all conventional and hybrid threats on safety, security and peace.
We are becoming a NATO member in an exceptionally geo-strategic moment, a moment of utmost importance for the zone of influence in SEE, Black sea basin and the Mediterranean Sea through which three continents are being controlled.
However, the support of our strategic partners, especially of the USA and other members of the NATO Alliance, has created conditions for undisputed membership invitation.
We are part of the security shield of the most powerful military alliance in the world. North Macedonia is a factor of stability in the region; it guarantees security.
NATO is the strongest guarantee for our stability, security, inviolability of the boundaries and protection of territorial integrity. And security and safety are the foundation of each economy; it is the base for foreign investments, for higher salaries, better jobs, for prosperity.
It is good that the support for NATO in our country is stable and it is growing. Even the biggest sceptics started showing their inclination towards the Alliance. This means that NATO unites.
The guarantee for our security and stability, which is reaffirmed here, on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, should stimulate all factors in the country to invest their efforts in reforms, democracy, rule of law and compliance with human rights and liberties.
Today we could only see part of the crew, the equipment and the aircrafts which are on NATO’s disposal.
As our army is fully on disposal to the other 29 member-states and peoples who are NATO members, so is this, what we saw here today, on our disposal and is part of our new capacities.
Here we have reaffirmed that our army will continue to actively participate in the peace-keeping operations conducted by the Alliance throughout the world. We remain focused and we will continue to actively give our contribution to the values shared by all NATO member-states.
Statement of the Deputy President of the Government and Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska on the USS Harry S. Truman Aircraft Carrier
Only several days ago we came back from London where we participated at our first meeting with NATO leaders. And we said that after almost 30 years, our country has managed to become a member of the most powerful military-political alliance.
Several days ago we spoke of the most powerful military-political alliance; and today, on Sicily, in the Mediterranean, we can see what this military-political alliance in fact means.
Today we had an opportunity to see only a small part of NATO’s defence capacities.
Our presence on one of the aircraft carriers which is part of the NATO fleet, here in the Mediterranean, shows what the membership means for our country.
The USS Harry S. Truman is already part of our defence. And those aircrafts on the carrier and these here, today, in the base, are part of our defence. All of them, with more than 5,000 soldiers on the aircraft carrier, are part of our defence, just as our capacities are part of the NATO system.
We have fought for this; we worked to achieve this and our country has invested a lot.
Now is the chance to reap the fruits from NATO membership. To have more chances for domestic and foreign investments, to create more jobs, higher salaries, to show that only a safe country can create prosperous future.
