Defense Minister gets Germany’s support

TIRANA, June 1 – Defense Minister Gazmend Oketa visited Germany to meet with officials and receive their assurances on supporting the country’s membership into NATO, likely next year. Oketa met with his German counterpart, Franz Josef Jung, to discuss further strengthening the already close ties between the two countries militaries. Germany is considered to have made a special contribution to Albania’s armed forces, especially in the education of its personnel. Some 1,500 personnel of the Albanian armed forces have been trained in the German military academies in the last decade.
NATO’s next summit will be held in Koln, Germany. Albania hopes to be offered membership following then, following up on its invitation issued during the Bucharest summit in April. The German minister also reconfirmed his country’s continuous participation of KFOR troops in Kosova. (Tirana Times Staff)