COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – All this week, Vermont’s state partners from North Macedonia toured the state, meeting with officials and renewing friendships.
Vermont is state partners with North Macedonia, Senegal, and Austria, but its partnership with North Macedonia is its oldest one, dating back all the way to 1993. Vermont Guard soldiers shared a deployment to Afghanistan with the country back in 2010, and helped with training as the country sought to meet NATO military standards leading up to it joining the alliance in 2020.
Since 2023, the partnership has not only been military, but also civic and economic. As a result, the North Macedonian delegation also met Governor Phil Scott, along with Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbets and Secretary of Commerce and Community Development Lindsey Kurrle.
(Courtesy: Vermont National Guard via FB)
Major General Sasko Lafchiski led the North Macedonian delegation, along with State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense Elizabeta Chupovska Ristova.
“This program has played a significant role in strengthening the partnership… and in supporting the professional and academic development of future military leaders,” wrote the North Macedonian Ministry of Defense about the visit.
(Courtesy: Vermont National Guard via FB)
In addition to the State House, the North Macedonians came to visit the Vermont National Guard in Colchester and Northfield as well as Norwich University.
In the past, the Vermont National Guard’s Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight has also visited North Macedonia, when he commented on the “work ethic and focus I have witnessed from our partners.”