Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met with visiting Croatian Defense Minister Ante Kotromanovic on Monday. According to the Government press release, Gruevski and Kotromanovic welcomed the fact that there are excellent relations between the two countries, that develop in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Gruevski discussed the continuing reforms in the Macedonian armed forces, undertaken as part of the NATO membership process. Gruevski said that joining the Alliance remains a strategic priority for Macedonia, which continues to take part in peace keeping missions led by NATO and is active in supporting its goals.

Kotromanovic said that Croatia is actively supportive of Macedonia's NATO membership. As in the previous meeting with Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski, Kotromanovic said that Macedonia meets all standards and criteria for NATO membership. The Croatian Minister added that Croatia also supports regional projects that would bring the Balkan countries closer together.

Some of the measures for cooperation discussed at the meeting between Gruevski and Kotromanovic included joint work on air force pilot training and other fields of education of officers.