Defence Minister Mimi Kodheli and CHGSAF Major General Jeronim Bazo, official visit to Afghanistan

: Published: Monday, 12 May 2014 15:05

The Minister of Defence, Mrs. Mimi Kodheli and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Jeronim Bazo held a 24-hour visit to Afghanistan.
The leadership of the Ministry of Defence and General Staff of the Armed Forces met with the commander of ISAF mission, General Joseph F. Dunford, NATO Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr. Maurits R. Jochems, commander of Joint Command, General Joseph Anderson, and with Brigadier General James E. Rainey, deputy commander of Regional Command South, direct command under which operate the Albanian Special Forces, which contribute to peace in Afghanistan, in Kandahar region.

In their meetings with civilian and military leaders, Minister Kodheli and Major General Bazo discussed about the problems of transition post ISAF mission, current operational aspects, contribution of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania to this operation and perspective of our Armed Forces contribution in the post-ISAF period. In this context, Mrs. Kodheli once again reaffirmed the commitment of the Albanian government to support the Alliance’s decision.

The visit of Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan, served to contact directly our troops in the field. Through a warm conversation, the Minister of Defence showed maximum and generous support of the government, of the Ministry of Defence for the difficult and important task they are carrying out. Mrs. Kodheli informed the troops about the programs that the Government, the new administration has for the Albanian Armed Forces, support of the consolidation processes leading to the improvement of conditions of the militaries, their fair treatment in relation to the requirements of the tasks. Mrs. Kodheli informed our militaries about the reform, within the Armed Forces, work for the improvement of the legal framework, which aims at restoring the dignity of the Armed Forces in accordance with NATO standards.

Mrs. Kodheli and Major General Bazo in their meetings with MAT 5 and Eagle 8 personnel, two missions which serve in Kabul and Kandahar alongside our allies, praised their professionalism in carrying out their duty. Minister Kodheli thanked our troops for the dedication with which they are fulfilling their extremely difficult, but also very important duty. Their engagement with maximum accountability in carrying out the duty is impressive, said Mrs. Kodheli. “In the meetings I had with senior military and civilian leaders, I noticed with pleasure that the Alliance commanders in the field share the same opinion: ‘Albanian Special Forces are responsible and at the height of their duty’ and this pleased and filled me with pride”, - stressed Minister Kodheli.