Approval of Strategic Defence Review document, the first document of this kind as a ally country of NATO

11 April 2013

Address of Prime Minister and Defence Minister

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania approved the Strategic Defence Review document. It is the most important document for security and defence, and it was drafted at a time when Albania is an ally country of the North Atlantic Treaty. This document is an analytical assessment of the current and expected environment of security and defence, it identifies national interests and objectives, it is the analytical argument on the role of the Armed Forces in this environment, on the quantity and quality of capacities they need to have according to possible scenarios of their use, as well as their organization inside a modern and reliable force for the accomplishment of the constitutional mission, in the framework of collective or separate defence.

The Strategic Defence Review document was initiated by the Prime Minister of Albania, it was formulated by teams of best national expertise and it was supported constantly by NATO allies. Strategic Defence Review is a document for all: for the politicians, citizens, experts, military personnel, journalists, groups of interest and civil society, including the international community. The public edition of this document, besides the respect democratic norms, is an expression of transparency in the field of defence. The Strategic Defence Review process considerably exceeded the dimensions of the institution of defence. In this process took part more than 150 civilian and military experts from ten other state institutions, and it was consulted with other non governmental actors and with the civil society.