Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati attended the Ministerial of NATO member states, held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on 1 and 2 December 2015.

Ministerial proceedings began with discussions on the situation in Afghanistan, challenges currently faced by Afghan authorities with regard to undertaken reforms, the need to further support Afghan authorities and its National Security Forces during 2016 through the “Resolute Support” Mission, as well as the future perspective of the Sustainable Partnership with this country.

In his remark, Minister Bushati underlined that the current situation in Afghanistan calls for the continuation of joint commitment to support Afghan authorities and to build capacities of their National Security Forces. In this regard, Albania will continue to provide its contribution to Afghanistan during 2016. Our country is determined to be present there for as long as it is necessary. 

Minister Bushati welcomed the decision of allies and partner countries to continue with the Resolute Support Mission, highlighting the importance of undertaking stronger measures on part of Afghan authorities to address security challenges.

During the joint session with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mrs. Federica Mogherini, Ministers of allied countries discussed security challenges which concern both organizations, especially those of a hybrid nature, challenges in the Southern borders resulting from the destabilization of Northern African and Middle Eastern countries, the increasing activity of ISIL, as well as the progress of the Global Coalition against terrorism.

Moreover, they also discussed measures to guarantee and protect the security of Turkey, as one of the most exposed allies in terms of risks stemming from the Southern part of the Alliance.

In this regard, Minister Bushati listed a series of challenges currently faced by the Alliance, the situation in Syria, terrorist attacks, especially those of Ankara and Paris, refugee humanitarian crisis and the potential infiltration of terrorist elements, all these clearly showing that the risk is not beyond the Alliance borders anymore, but instead, inside it.

In this context, Minister Bushati underlined that the efficiency in the fight against terrorism requires a more harmonized coordination within the Alliance and among international organizations, as well as a complementary interaction between NATO and the EU, with NATO being more capable of preventing conflicts, and the EU more capable of consolidating peace.

During the second day, on December 2, at the meeting of Foreign Ministers of allied countries with Montenegro, the decision to formally invite Montenegro to join NATO was announced, a decision which reaffirms the commitment of the Alliance to protecting and promoting the enlargement policy.

In his remark, Minister Bushati, after congratulating his Montenegrin counterpart, Lukšić on the invitation to join the Alliance, highlighted that today’s decision is a result of the political readiness and serious commitment of Montenegro towards the Euro-Atlantic path. Minister Bushati noted that Albania has been a strong supporter of the Alliance’s Open-Doors Policy and that the future accession of Montenegro to NATO acquires geostrategic importance not only for the Alliance, but also for peace and security in the entire Adriatic Europe area.

The NATO Ministerial, inter alia, served as a roadmap for the political orientation of NATO member states in the next NATO Summit, to be held on 8-9 July 2016 in Warsaw.