NATO Secretary General thanked North Macedonia for carrying out reforms to join the Alliance next year.
Jens Stoltenberg said NATO is ready to welcome North Macedonia.
An agreement between NATO and North Macedonia was signed in February. The country plans to increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2024 from the current one percent.
Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro have already joined NATO just as other countries of the Balkan region, including Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
Last week European Commission formally recommended that North Macedonia should start membership negotiations to join the European Union.
