On Friday (25 April 2025) NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska welcomed young people from across the Alliance to the NATO Youth Summit in Budva, Montenegro. Organised in cooperation with the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, the fifth Youth Summit brought together hundreds of young people for discussions with the Deputy Secretary General and other NATO leaders on critical security issues.
Ms Shekerinska highlighted priorities in the run-up to the NATO Summit in The Hague, including increased defence spending. She underlined that, "We have seen a number of Allies not just reaching 2% which was the pledge that NATO did more than 10 years ago, but actually going much beyond." Ms Shekerinska also stressed that young people should care about security. She encouraged young people to be involved and advised the future generation to be courageous, determined and resilient.
The Deputy Secretary General took part in a conversation titled "Setting the Scene", moderated by Selin Yimaz, President of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA) International. During her trip to Montenegro, she met the President of Montenegro, Mr Jakov Milatović, visited the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre, and the Government Cybersecurity Operations Centre.
