Off the wire
• Kenya arrests 13 Ethiopians on suspicion of human trafficking  • Germany's benchmark DAX index closes up  • AU, Somalia forces recapture town from Al-Shabaab  • Nairobi bourse 20 Share Index crosses 4,000 mark  • Council of Europe chief visits Poland due to Constitutional Tribunal situation  • Azerbaija-Armenia clashes enter into third day with no signs of abating  • Over 400 Palestinian children detained in Israeli jails: Palestinian Prisoners Club  • Rwanda's gorilla naming event pushes conservation, tourism  • St. Petersburg to host 18th theater festival  • Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming in basketball Hall of Fame  
You are here: 　 Home

Albania marks seventh anniversary of joining NATO

Xinhua, April 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Albanian Ministry of Defense held a ceremony on Monday for the seventh anniversary of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to commemorate one of the biggest achievements for the country's safety.

Tirana Municipality decorated the capital city with thousands of national and NATO flags and the ceremony was opened with a speech of the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, who sees the accession of Albania to NATO as a huge event.

Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati declared that "NATO accession turned Albania into a safer country."

On her regard, Albanian Minister of Defense Mimi Kodheli underlined that "the Albanian soldiers are giving their contribution today in Afghanistan and Iraq. The peacekeeping missions have turned into a tradition of the Albanian military troops. We are able to show the best values of our armed forces."

Albania became a full-fledged NATO member on April 4, 2009. In May 27, Tirana will host the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Endit