TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, April 13 – The ceremony of departure of the Fifth Albanian Peacekeeping Contingent to participate in the European Union’s Althea mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina was held Monday at a military base with the participation of Defense Minister Arben Imami, Chief of General Staff Brig. Gen. Maksim Malaj and other senior generals of the Armed Forces, family members and relatives of military peacekeepers.
Imami said that such an army unit had been taking part for two years in the EU mission Althea in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“This is a very important mission, not only because of the autonomy and the role it has, but also because it represents our professional capabilities in the dismantling of ammunition,” he said.
The minister continued to say that the experience gained in these missions is a strong basis to successfully continue the demounting and the destruction of the excess ammunition in Albania.
The minister said that one year after being a NATO member the army’s tasks for the future are great ones contributing to the strengthening and maintaining security in the Western Balkans.
Imami also said that being carried out in the framework of EU that represents the “first steps of our path towards European Union membership.”
The mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina marks the first one to be performed with full operational, financial and logistical capacity made in the context of the agreement signed from Albania with the European Union in May 2005 to participate with troops in EU military operations for the crisis management in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The fifth contingent composed of 2 officers and ten operators of the ammunition and explosives disposal will replace the fourth contingent, which started its mission in October 2009. This contingent is part of force the Center of the Ammunition and Explosives Annihilation.
