Minister Jana Černochová met with Defence Minister of North Macedonia
Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic
3.3.2023
Author: by editorial staff (ob)
Minister Jana Černochová had an official meeting with Defence Minister of North Macedonia Slavjanka Petrovska. The Ministers discussed the security situation in Europe as well as bilateral defence and defence industrial cooperation. North Macedonia is an important partner for the Czech Republic. Overhaul and upgrade of two Mi-8MT helicopters of the Macedonian Air Force will start by the end of March in the LOM Praha state enterprise. Intergovernmental agreement and technical arrangement on performance of the works on the two machines were signed at the end of the last year.
North Macedonia is an important partner for the Czech Republic. By the end of March, LOM PRAHA state enterprise will commence overhauling and upgrading two Macedonian military Mi-8MT helos. The agreement between the two governments and the technical arrangement were signed at the end of the last year. "I am very pleased that we managed to achieve an agreement on a Government-to-Government project of repair of these helicopters," Minister Černochová said and added that her office stands ready to provide to the Macedonian Defence Ministry all cooperation needed on the realisation of the project. "Projects like these are extremely important for strengthening interoperability among NATO allies," Minister Černochová emphasised.
Three-year service life extension by LOM
The two helicopters from the inventory of the Air Brigade of the Republic of North Macedonia will be partially disassembled at Skopje Petrovec airbase in mid-March. LOM PRAHA will then transport them on land to the Czech Republic. The Mi-8MT airlift assets will be repaired in the LOM PRAHA facilities in Prague Kbely.
According to the General Manager of the LOM PRAHA state enterprise Mr. Jiří Protiva, the overhaul will extend the machines' service life by three years. "Helicopters with registration numbers 305 and 306 will undergo a complete overhaul of all parts and systems, including paint stripping and subsequent painting of all internal and external surfaces, plus all cabling in the powerplant bay will be replaced and some upgrades made, for instance the integration of Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder," Mr. Protiva elaborated.
During the visit of Macedonian delegation, Mr. Protiva presented similar projects performed in the facility. The LOM PRAHA is in the process of reconfiguring an Mi-17 into a passenger version and upgrading avionics on one Mi-171Sh for the Czech Air Force.
Supported by AMOS agency
The Memorandum on modernisation of the Mi helicopters by LOM PRAHA was signed by then Defence Minister Lubomír Metnar with Minister of Defence and Minister of the Interior of North Macedonia in May 2021. The intergovernmental agreement and technical arrangement was signed by Minister Petrovska and Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Ludva on behalf of the Government of the Czech Republic on December 23rd, 2022. Along with that, the technical arrangement was signed between LOM PRAHA and the State Secretary of the Defence Ministry of North Macedonia Mr. Vladimir Ančev. For the overhaul and partial modernisation, North Macedonia will pay close to EUR 6 million. The due amount is divided into three payments.
From the beginning, the contract has been coordinated by the Czech MoD AMOS Intergovernmental Defence Cooperation Agency. "AMOS negotiated the wording of the G2G agreement and initiated the process of its execution," said the Agency Director, Mr. Aleš Vytečka. AMOS also oversees the performance of the agreement: "We receive progress information on the performance of works from LOM PRAHA and information on payments by the Macedonian party. In case of any issues, our agency assists on identifying solutions between both parties," Mr. Vytečka explained.
Assistance to Ukraine and bilateral military cooperation
Having joined the Alliance in 2020, North Macedonia is the youngest NATO nation. The country's defence expenditure has recently grown and government seeks to meet the 2% GDP defence spending commitment in 2024.
The Czech Republic has been a strong supporter of Ukraine from the beginning of the conflict. North Macedonia also provides assistance to Ukraine. "Our country has provided assistance to Ukraine in six packages that included ammunition and heavy equipment," Minister Petrovska informed.
North Macedonia is engaged in NATO, EU and UN led operations. Czech and Macedonian service personnel operate side by side in KFOR Kosovo, NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) and the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Latvia. Servicemembers of both countries also participate in EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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