Meeting on the U.S. Security Assistance Management Review

Published: Monday, 07 April 2014 15:36

It has begun today the meeting on the U.S. Security Assistance Management Review organized in the framework of bilateral military cooperation between the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania and Armed Forces of the United States of America. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Dritan Hila, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Jeronim Bazo, directors and militaries of the Ministry of Defence, General Staff and Armed Forces. The event was also attended by the Chief of ODC (Office of Defence Cooperation), Major Kristopher S. Mitchell, and other representatives of ODC.

In his address, Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Dritan Hila said: “I am pleased to welcome you today to this Security Assistance Management Review event. This meeting is a good opportunity for parties, you and the Ministry of Defence, to review processes, objectives and goals, assess them and see what did meet the expectations and what did not. In addition we may track what did not run according to our plans and take the necessary actions to improve future procedures.”

Deputy Minister of Defence Hila said, “The Ministry of Defence has a long and fruitful relationship with the Office of Defence Cooperation in both Foreign Military Sales and Foreign Military Financing, which dates back as of 1994. This is a long period during which the MoD has benefited a lot, just to mention training and IMET program. But, The MoD and General Staff should do more in developing a comprehensive and detailed list of our future needs that of course should be based on our main priorities.

The main organizations that will deal with these programs will be presented during the meeting, in addition to the policies and procedures to be followed. Current programs between our two countries will be discussed, as well as what has been done and what should be done in the future.
The meeting on the U.S. Security Assistance Management Review will end on April 9, 2014.