Meetings of NATO Ministers of Defence: Albania adheres to the commitment to invest in Defence

Published: Thursday, 18 February 2021 16:06

NATO Defense Ministers met virtually via secure teleconference on 17-18 February 2021 to address some key security issues: the Alliance's adaptation through the NATO 2030 initiative, review progress toward fairer burden-sharing, Strengthened NATO "Defense and Deterrence", NATO's missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc.

The Ministerial was held according to the program with two formal sessions only with NATO countries and a special session with NATO partner countries, attended by the Defense Ministers of Finland, Sweden and Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security and Vice President of the European Commission Mr. Josep Borrell.

Defence Minister Niko Peleshi could not participate in this meeting cause Covid -19 infection, and was represented by the Deputy Defence Minister Petro Koçi.

In his speech, Mr. Koçi welcomed the NATO 2030 Report and considered it as a strong basis for further discussions. He stressed the great importance of the key principles of unity, solidarity and cohesion among the member countries of the Alliance as well as the importance of the transatlantic link. Considering the NATO 2030 Report, Mr. Koçi praised the findings and recommendations and assured the member states that Albania will give its contribution in fulfilling the obligations and facing the challenges that the Alliance have to face.

Regarding the Defense Investment Commitment (DIP), Mr. Koçi assured that Albania will keep this commitment and it is on the way of its implementation, despite the financial impact created by the 2019 earthquake and the Covid-19 pandemic. As for the contributions to NATO operations and missions, Mr. Koçi, after praising the contribution of military troops in NATO operations and missions and activities in this time of pandemic, confirmed the maintenance of Albania's current commitments in Kosovo and Latvia, as well as the continuation of the Albanian contribution to Afghanistan in accordance with the collective decision-making of the Alliance following the principle "In together - out together".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that this meeting is an important moment and creates the basis for the leaders Alliance summit later this year.

In his speech, Mr. Stoltenberg mentioned the work performed in drafting the document "NATO 2030", which will serve as a basis for drafting the new Strategic Concept of the Alliance.

NATO 2030 aims to make the Transatlantic Alliance more suitable for the future through some ambitious proposals for the preparation of the next summit of NATO leaders, such as: increasing commitment to deterrence and defense, encouraging Allies to provide more capacity while maintaining the principle of fairer burden-sharing; increasing the level of ambition for resilience, which is the first line of defense; promoting transatlantic cooperation on defense innovation while maintaining the highest levels of technology; improving training and capacity building in NATO partner countries; updating the NATO Strategic Concept; etc.

This was the first Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence with the new administration of President Biden, and was praised for opening a new chapter in relations between Europe and North America.