Defence Minister’s full speech held on the occasion of conclusion of the Senior Defense and Security Course

: Published: Friday, 07 December 2018 14:29

Distinguished Ambassadors and Defense Military Attachés
General Kollçaku;
Dear Generals
Dear graduates of the10th Senior Course on Security and Defense Studies!

It is a real pleasure for me to take part in the Graduation Ceremony of the 10th Senior Course on Security and Defense Studies. Now, looking at the statistics of the 10 courses, I'm happy to notice that this course has shaped and consolidated its profile, not only regionally, but even wider. Throughout the years, in these courses, have graduated 168 military and civilians from Albania and 15 different countries in the region and beyond. This fact makes us quite optimistic to continue in this path in the future.

Even though I didn’t have the possibility to join you during the course, I have been informed about your activities, and I know that during these 13 weeks you have been discussing a lot of issues and challenges and the dynamics of the geo-political interaction that involve all our countries.

The motto of this course: “Promoting Regional Peace and Security”, reflects the security challenges of 21st century and highlights for the objectives of this course.
We all, are aware that strategic environment today is evolving at a rapid pace and a variety of threats, are sometimes simultaneously present, hence the need for cooperation by being together in NATO, EU and is a must to address common challenges and achieve common goals.

We also need to understand this evolving security environment and identify the trends, in order to make sure that decisions we are to taking today, are to be fit for tomorrow.
I would like to congratulate the professors and the lecturers for their job, also the students to benefit from a wide variety of speakers, lectures, briefings, activities outside of the lecture room, cultural tours and visits to national and international institutions that focus on defense and security issues.

And i would also like to emphasize that bringing together 11 students from 9 countries, is the biggest achievement of this course and shows how closely we are working together to make our countries and our region safer and more secure.

Our foreign friends.
Thank you for being here and attending the 10th Senior Course on Security and Defense Studies. Your presence here, is an added value to this course and at the same time, it is a proof of the cooperation and the friendship among our countries.

Thank you to the participants coming from Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and the United Kingdom.
I am confident that each of you has benefited from this experience and you will bring back to your nations, or next international assignments, additional knowledge and skills, which will enable you to manage the diversity in a multinational environment.

I hope this Course, for the majority of you, has represented a unique and stimulating interaction with your fellow course-mates, Staff and others, how had the possibility to share ideas and discuss issues from different perspectives. By attending this course, you qualify as the ambassadors and members of the Senior Course on Security and Defense Studies club.

General Bega, if this club, doesn’t exist yet, let’s create one. I highly encourage you to maintain the network you have built here, in order to spread the value of this experience you have had here, in your respective countries and abroad.You came in Tirana as guests and now are leaving as friends.

Let me wish all of you a successful career, as well as good health and happiness in your personal life.

Thank you very much!