The Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Ioannis Kefalogiannis, accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff Vice Admiral Mr. Frangiskos Leloudas, attended the ceremonies held in Kumanovo, Republic of North Macedonia, on 31 August 2023, on the occasion of the change of Chairmanship of the Politico – Military Steering Committee of the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (PMSC-SEDM/CC), which was handed over by Bulgaria to Romania, as well as the change of Command of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) which was handed over by Greece to Albania.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Defence Minister of the Republic of North-Macedonia, as well as by the Deputy Defence Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence of Albania, by the Ambassador of Greece to North Macedonia Ms. Sophia Philippidou, by representatives of Diplomatic Missions, Defence Attachés and Military Delegations of SEDM member-states.

At the side-line of the ceremonies, Mr. Kefalogiannis had meetings with his counterparts from the participating countries and they exchanged views on bilateral matters, focusing on defence cooperation.

After the end of the ceremonies, the Deputy Minister made the following statement (on camera):

“I am pleased that I attended today, together with colleagues, Defence Ministers and representatives of the states of the region, the ceremonies for the change of command of the Defence Ministerial Process and of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade. They are two initiatives which promote the cooperation among the states of the region in the defence sector, they reinforce peace and stability and they mitigate the security dilemmas which concerned our peoples for many decades. It is a special honour for Greece that Greek General Officers assumed the command of the multinational Brigade over the past three years and produced a significant work, contributing to the reinforcement of the cooperation, based on the International Law, in order to promote the stability in the region

Greece is, indeed, a pioneer in taking initiatives which promote the regional cooperation and security, and it has been steadily supporting the European perspective of the countries in the region, by encouraging their efforts to fulfil the necessary conditions to this end.

Concluding, I would like to congratulate the outgoing Greek Commander of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade, Brigadier General Evangelos Mitroutsikos, for his praiseworthy efforts to upgrade the role of the Brigade.”