Albania pledges further Afghanistan support at NATO summit

TIRANA, Nov. 22 – NATO leaders emerged from a two-day summit in Portugal with a common commitment that U.S. and other allied forces will have moved into a support role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Albanian leaders attending the summit said Albania will continue to have a presence in Afganistan for as long as NATO needs it.
Leaders of NATO’s 28 nations approved the NATO’s new strategic concept.
Albania took part with a big delegation headed by Prime Minister Sali Berisha. It included Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto, Defense Minister Arben Imami and Ambassador to NATO Artur Kuko.
The Lisbon summit was the first that Albania attended as a full member.
Berisha said that Albania joined in the NATO’s new Strategic Concept, the most sweeping NATO reform, its role and mission in the 21st century. He also highly appreciated the NATO decisive role for prevention of genocide and promotion of peace and stability in the Balkans.
He also ensured the member countries that Albania will continue to actively take part and support all the Alliance peace missions and also support NATO facing new security threats over the Euro-Atlantic space as well as over a wider area.
The prime minister said that Albania considered the Alliance’s further enlargement in the region an important development for the security of our region and said that Albania was determined to make a contribution to the process.
Berisha said Albania would continue its commitment with 306 troops in Afghanistan until that was required from by the alliance and was considering its increase, likely with more civil assistance, further contribution in the field of education and health.
Berisha said that the democratization process of that country was one of the main concerns of the Euro-Atlantic community of our time still to be resolved.
During the summit Berisha met several dignitaries like the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Belgium Yves Leterme, Czech President V⤬av Klaus, Herman Van Rompuy of the European Council, Jos額anuel Barroso of the European Commission, Spain Prime Minister Jos題uis Rodrez Zapatero, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and many other personalities.
“Albania fully supports NATO new strategic concept which targets to adapt the Alliance in successfully addressing the global evolution of security challenges over the NATO space and worldwide. The concept carries the reforms and reorganization of the military and civil structures; it forecasts a greater focus on the main risks; it identifies terrorism, cyber terrorism, energy problems and naturally, the nuclear threat as among the major risks which the most powerful alliance of all times faces,” said Berisha.
The premier also said that Albania would not cut its defense budget as the armed forces were in a constant and indispensable upgrade process.