Albania has handed over to Bulgaria the chairmanship for the Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial Regional Initiative (SEDM), after a successful leading period, from 2019 to 2021. For this, the SEDM-Ç / PMSC Secretariat participated in the Meeting Coordinator held on June 15-18, 2021, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The delegation of the SEDM-Ç / PMSC Secretariat was headed by Mr. Gjergji Methoxha, NATO Policy Director and EU Policy Directorate and Director of the SEDM Secretariat.
The meeting between the two Delegations was focused on the preparation and meeting convene of the Coordination Committee (SEDM-Ç) and the Political-Military Leading Committee (PMSC), and also on the work and achievements of the SEDM Secretariat during 2019-2021 and the handing over of SEDM archive and other SEDM related materials.
The official ceremony for handing over and assuming SEDM chairmanship will take place on August 26, 2021, in Kumanovo, Northern Macedonia (the place where the SEEBRIG Brigade is deployed), a period which also coincides with the 22nd Anniversary and SEEBRIG HQ.
Within this official visit, on June 15, 2021, the Delegation of the Secretariat SEDM-Ç / PMSC, visited SEEBRIG HQ in Camp "Boro Menkov" in Kumanovo, Northern Macedonia.
During this visit, SEDM Secretariat held a meeting with the Commander of SEEBRIG HQ, Brigadier General Aristeidis Iliopoulos. The Director of the Secretariat highlighted that SEEBRIG is a success story, as it is one of the first and important initiatives that have been undertaken in our region and has greatly contributed to regional security and stability, mutual trust, and strengthening neighborly relations among the countries of Southeast Europe.
The SEDM Regional Initiative, established in 1996 in Tirana, with the participation of all Southeast European countries and the USA, already represents a process of integration and cooperation in the fields of security and regional defense.
