NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Rob Bauer praised Albania for its contribution to regional and international security, particularly regarding the eastern flank of Alliance territory.
Albania has been a member of NATO since 2009, and it has remained a strong ally of the US and EU, while 95% of Albanians approve of membership.
Bauer met with President Bajram Begaj, where he commended the Albanian Armed Forces’ work in Kosovo and beyond.
“Albania makes vital contributions to NATO. Not only do the Albanian Armed Forces participate in NATO’s KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and NATO’s mission in Iraq, but Albania also contributes troops to the multinational battlegroups in Latvia and Bulgaria. This is an important component of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture in the eastern part of Alliance territory,” stressed Bauer, noting the current tensions in the Western Balkans.
When meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama and Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka, Bauer discussed the importance of cyber resilience following the attacks on Albanian digital infrastructure by Iran in 2022 that brought all online government services to a standstill.
He also observed a live demonstration from Albanian Special Operations Forces and commented, “I was impressed by the display put on today by Albania’s most elite unite, they demonstrated clear unity of purpose, professionalism and lived up to their international reputation.”
Brigadier General Kingji thanked Bauer for praising Albanian efforts and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to NATO.
“We are proud to serve today with dignity on the front lines of the Alliance…Our Armed Forces will maintain a maximum commitment and dedication to accomplish with dignity every military obligation of the country toward the Alliance. We always remain reliable with our NATO Allies, and Admiral Bauer reaffirmed it. This is encouragement for us, and we highly appreciate it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Albanian National Information Society Agency, Linda Karcanaj, was present at the NATO Data and Artificial Intelligence Review Board meeting to discuss new projects in the field of data, security and artificial intelligence.
Following the NATO meeting, Karcanaj said, “Albania’s experience in the development of online public services and rapid digitisation is seen with great interest in the countries of the Alliance, about which I spoke with great enthusiasm in this joint meeting.”
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
