On Wednesday, October 31st, Defence Minister Mihai Fifor met with his Albanian counterpart, Olta XHACKA, as part of the visit the Albanian defence minister pays to Romania.

The meeting agenda included topics referring to the security situation from the Western Balkans and the Romanian-Albanian cooperation in the field of defence, both at bilateral level and within NATO, with focus on the efforts made by the two states in order to counteract the threats against North-Atlantic security and on strengthening the defence and deterrence posture. In this respect, the two ministers expressed their interest in the field of defence by increasing the political-military dialogue at high level and the collaboration at the level of the Services.

The complexity of the threats and the importance of the constant stabilization efforts were emphasized with respect to the security situation in the Western Balkans' region. In this context, Minister Mihai Fifor pointed out the importance of the development process undergone by the EU member states from the region. Also, the defence minister appreciated Albania's contribution and involvement in the process of the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM).

'Following Romania's taking over the Presidency of the EU Council starting with January 2019, I pointed out that the stability of the Western Balkans region is one of the priorities in the field of defence. Therefore, I suggested the Albanian partner to intensify the cooperation between the two states, taking into consideration our common interests in ensuring a proper security and stability climate in a region facing complex and volatile threats and conflicts which can get worse at any time. There is a cooperation potential between Romania and Albania, and we agreed upon initiating the talks at the level of expert-groups in the near future so that all projects discussed during this official visit in Bucharest get materialized in the benefit of our armed forces ', Mihai Fifor added.

The Press Office