Defence Minister Kodheli at the U.S-Adriatic Charter Defence Ministerial

Minister Kodheli: Albania, since a long time, is engaged in Afghanistan and will continue to contribute working closely with other countries, to further support the Afghan government in strengthening security and reviving the institutions. Albania will be part of the initiatives taken by the A-5 to help Afghanistan in the areas of military mentoring, military police and medical treatment.

02 October 2013

In the framework of the Comprehensive Regional Ministerial 2013, which is taking place in by Brdo, Slovenia, Defence Minister, Ms. Mimi Kodheli, took part in the Defence Ministerial, U.S-Adriatic Charter (A-5). The Adriatic Charter Defence Ministerial (A-5) was opened by Montenegrin Defence Minister, Mr. Milica Pejanovič Đurišič, chair of the meeting of this initiative. Initially, the participants were addressed by Slovenian Defence Minister, Mr. Roman Jakič, who expressed his satisfaction for the full participation of all the ministers of the Adriatic Charter member countries.

The defence ministers confirmed once again the importance of the Euro-Atlantic integration process to strengthen stability and security in South-Eastern Europe. Considering the importance of cooperation among the member countries of this initiative in the field of security and defence, this meeting was a good opportunity to discuss about global challenges to the security, which our countries are facing.
At this meeting, special importance was dedicated to the role of Albania, Croatia and United States, as NATO member countries, and the support they have given to other countries participating in this initiative in the process of integration into NATO or in other regional structures.

The Minister of Defence of Albania, Ms. Mimi Kodheli during her speech said that, Albania, since a long time, is engaged in Afghanistan and will continue to contribute working closely with other countries, to further support the Afghan government in strengthening security and reviving the institutions. Albania will be part of the initiatives taken by the A-5 to help Afghanistan in the areas of military mentoring, military police and medical treatment. Minister Kodheli also discussed about the projects undertaken under this initiative, as a practical mechanism of regional cooperation.

Further in her speech, Minister Kodheli emphasized that regional cooperation should focus on the concept of “Smart Defence”, as well as the use of common defence assets in cases of need. On this occasion, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Albania has offered its contribution to the regional cooperation and invited the A-5 member states, but also other countries of the region, to attend courses in the Foreign Language Centre or in the Senior Course on Defence and Security in Albania, noting that the number of international participants in this course, for 2013, has increased significantly. In addition, Minister Kodheli described the joint exercises as a good mean to increase and further strengthen military cooperation in the region and beyond, citing in particular, the joint exercise held in our country in 2013. The Minister further stated that Albania is preparing to host again this exercise in 2015, in which A-5 countries, but also other countries, are invited to participate.

Albania, in 2014, will take the presidency of the A-5 U.S-Adriatic Charter Initiative. It is the first time that the presidency is taken for a period of one year, since up to now, it was assumed by each state every six months.