During the central event on the 18th of August – The Day of the Army of North Macedonia and its 30th anniversary at Ilinden military base in Skopje, the president of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski awarded the first Defense Minister, Trajan Gocevski, the Army’s Logistic’s Base and the Organization of Reserve Officers of the Republic of North Macedonia, with the Order of Military Merit. Trajan Gocevski was awarded for his contribution to the creation of the Army as a legitimate and regular armed force.
“On this day, we should remind ourselves not only about the establishing of the army and its development, but the basic reason for its existence, and that is the right of every country to self-defense. The Army defends our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order, but also our national dignity and honor. The Army was engaged in facing key events in the country starting from the Kosovo crisis in 1999 through the military conflict in 2001, up to the migrant crisis in 2015. The Army receives its strength and identity from the people, from the citizens. Because of that, there is no tighter connection between the soldier and his country,” said President Pendarovski.
In her address, Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska focused on the army’s achievements during the 30 years since its formation, the key decisions that were made in the past period, the Army’s place in the society as an institution that enjoys the biggest trust, as well as processes for defense development, army’s modernization, and the development and motivation of all army members and civilian clerks working in the defense department.
“30 years of existence is a long period that we remember as a time when the limits of our own achievements were diligently pushed forward. The place that the army enjoys today at home and in NATO is an achievement that many individuals, former presidents, governments, defense ministers, commanders, soldiers, and army employees had worked on,” said the minister.
The central event was attended by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, the Parliament’s Vice President Goran Misovski, various ministers, representatives of the diplomatic corps, former defense ministers and army chiefs of general staff, army’s generals, command’s commanders and the army’s units and representatives of organizations that work with the army.
The central event is one of the closing activities in the army’s anniversary celebrations. Among the events, there was an exhibition about the anniversary, an open day for the people, forums, sports contests, humanitarian works, and celebrations among the army’s units.
