MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE MEETING WITH THE PRIME MINISTER, THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE, AND THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES
The President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Bajram Begaj, held a meeting today with the Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Edi Rama, the Minister of Defense, Mr. Niko Peleshi, and the Chief of General Staff, Major General Arben Kingji.
The meeting WAS focused on the conclusions of the informal summit held by NATO Secretary-General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg in Skopje, attended by the Prime Ministers of Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, AND ALSO BY the President of Croatia. This EVENT marked the first high-level NATO meeting of this format, held in a Western Balkan country. Albania is expreesing its readiness to host such summits in Tirana.
The Western BalkanS region HAS strategic importance for the Euro-Atlantic alliance. The fragile security situation in northern Kosova, the lack of progress in the Serbia-Kosova normalization dialogue, threats of division in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the disruptive influences of Russia and Iran through hybrid and cyber threats are matters of concern.
Albania is a significant factor of peace and stability in the region and an important ally for NATO. The upcoming NATO Summit in Washington next year is expected to make crucial decisions regarding the adaptation and strengthening of defensive and preventative capabilities.
In this context, today’s meeting discussed the harmonization of national defense plans with NATO’s and the potential increase in troop contributions if requested by NATO. Prioritizing the drafting of strategic documents like the National Security Strategy and other important documents for fulfilling the constitutional mission of the Armed Forces was agreed upon.
Increasing the defense budget to 2% of GDP to fulfill commitments made at the Wales Summit will enable the modernization of the Armed Forces and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities.