Minister Peleshi, the Commander of the New Jersey Guard and Ambassador Yuri Kim, visit the Recruitment Booth in the center of Tirana

Published: Wednesday, 08 March 2023 14:55

A team of the National Guard of New Jersey, together with women of the Armed Forces of Albania, organized the "Security Challenges in Europe - Women, Peace and Security" Forum in Tirana. The aim of this activity, held on Women's Day, is to strengthen the role of woman in the military, as part of the Armed Forces. At the forum, which also served as a training for military women on issues related to security and peace, the Minister of Defense Niko Peleshi thanked the National Guard of New Jersey.

Mr. Peleshi emphasized the progress that has been made in the Armed Forces of Albania by removing the restriction on the participation of girls and women in the army.

"The security challenges have become sharper, moreover for a region like our Western Balkan region, which is still a fragile region. We have a UN directive on gender equality, on which in 2022 we also drew up the Gender Equality Plan in security and defense issues for a 10-year period. We have made significant progress in terms of documents, because until 2022 we had a restriction, which now seems absurd and so it was, that is, there should not be more than 15% women in the Armed Forces. Now this restriction has been removed. There is no limit on our plan. We have witnessed a significant increase in participation in the AF, an increase in the commissioning of young officers, an increase in the number of women and girls in high-priority sectors such as cyber security, where 50% are women and girls". - Minister Peleshi said.

American Ambassador Yuri Kim, present at the forum, praised Albania as a worthy ally of the USA. "For us, for the USA, it is a clear principle. We want to stand with other countries that believe as we do, that our children should live in a free, open, safe and progressive world. And for us there is no better ally than Albania. We are proud to have you as an ally in NATO. We are proud to see your progress on the road to full membership in the European Union", - Ambassador Kim said. Recalling the saying of our national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu "Union makes power", the Ambassador said that Albania and the USA must stay together and this is a key component in facing security challenges around the world.

While the Commander of the National Guard of New Jersey, Brigadier General Lisa Hou spoke about the security challenges in Europe that come not only because of the war in Ukraine. According to her, many countries are facing challenges in cyber security today, therefore she emphasized the strengthening of cooperation between all NATO countries.