SEESAC Presents Its Work at 47th South East Europe Defence Ministerial Coordination Meeting

SEESAC participated in the 47th South East Europe Defence Ministerial Coordination (SEDM-CC) Meeting in Sofia on 20 September. The meeting gathered representatives of the Member Nations and international/regional organisations (SEESAC, RACVIAC) to foster dialogue and regional cooperation and exchange information related to common security challenges in the region.

Presiding the meeting, Ms. Teodora Genchovska, Deputy Minister of Defence, thanked the participants for taking part in this regional process which is of importance for enhancing regional cooperation in South East Europe.

During the meeting, SEESAC provided an update on the activities conducted since the last SEDM-DCHOD meeting in supporting the counterparts from the region to strengthen small arms and light weapons control and advance gender equality in the military. Moreover, the participants were informed about the implementation of the projects aimed at disarmament and arms control in South East Europe.

Furthermore, SEESAC announced that the 15th regional meeting of Gender Equality Mechanisms in Ministries of Defence and Armed Forces in the Western Balkans will take place in Belgrade on 6-7 December 2022. This meeting will enable the launch of the Regional Baseline Study on Integrating a Gender Perspective in Military Education and Training. On the other hand, the next regional Roadmap coordination meeting, planned to be held on 13-14 December 2022 in Montenegro, was announced as well, while the Ministries of Defence were thanked for their excellent cooperation with SEESAC.

Reaffirming its commitment to jointly work with the SEDM Secretariat and all the forum’s participating Nations, SEESAC highlighted its readiness to continue contributing to regional security, stability, and peace, as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals, while the SEDM Chair emphasised the significance of SEESAC’s assistance in contributing to security, stability, and cooperation in South East Europe.