The Defense and Armed Forces of Albania have long embarked on a path of historic transformation toward Albania 2030.

A report-presentation of achievements and challenges in the defense sector was held today during a special ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who visited this Saturday the Command of the Land Force in Zall-Herr, together with the Minister of Defense Pirro Vengu and the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Lieutenant Arben Kingji.

Prime Minister Rama met with soldiers, officers, and non-commissioned officers, as well as students and young people interested in recruiting into the ranks of the Albanian Armed Forces.

During the visit, which coincides with the 16th anniversary of Albania's NATO membership and the 76th anniversary of the creation of the Alliance, Prime Minister Rama also observed a demonstration by the Special Operations Regiment, which trains with American forces stationed there daily since the past year.

Part of the demonstration was also an exhibition showcasing the logistical capabilities, equipment, and military vehicles of our Armed Forces.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama: I am very pleased that today we have many things to say in terms of what has been done, and based on everything we have done, we have many reasons to be more than encouraged about the future.
Looking back and picking up where the minister left off, there is a painful truth: while, in terms of integrating our army into the Euro-Atlantic community, everyone made their efforts, in terms of care and support for our army in its daily functioning, Albania experienced something that no other country has gone through, a fall into the void followed by a very long period of abandonment.

On one hand, I am proud to say that in 10 years we have increased investments in the defense sector tenfold, a growth that has not occurred in any other field at such a pace. But on the other hand, it is truly dramatic to think that when we took office, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania were supported with an investment of 28 million euros, a figure that today is much smaller than the amount we have invested just for civil emergencies.

I am also very proud that we have achieved this, and I repeat with great gratitude to the Chief of Staff, to the entire Military Staff, and to my predecessors with whom I have had the privilege to work, along with the defense ministers, of course, so that today we have the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania, towards which young people are no longer completely closed off, but on the contrary, they have started and are increasingly looking toward. Today, we have the best-paid army in the Western Balkans. Meanwhile, when we took office, we had the worst-paid army in the entire region.

Practically, today we are at an average salary of 1,550 euros, which, allow me to assure you, is not our final station, but it is only one of the stops on the way to the goal that we shared with you from the very beginning, and we understood your total disbelief when I told you that we would achieve having an Albanian army paid at the NATO armed forces' average. We are significantly approaching that average, but we still have steps to take.

Today, we are facing a meaningful development, which is not just the construction of some modern buildings, but buildings that, inside them, will have the most advanced equipment of the time to guarantee the highest quality with NATO standards, all the training for the personnel. But beyond that, we have also started a support program for the families of the personnel, and today, 179 personnel have benefited from an interest-free housing loan, and this program will be expanded.

Furthermore, I would like to add that a number of improvements have been made, which have been listed here, including the fleet of helicopters, which has been significantly upgraded, the drones, the NATO Tactical Air Base in Kuçovë, as well as the Gjadri, the satellite service, the Innovation and Security Center, which is still in its early stages and which we want to strengthen with the military cybersecurity unit, the integrated maritime surveillance system, as well as with membership in the European Civil Protection Mechanism. These are all key indicators of this ongoing transformation.

I am very happy that we have seen an increase in the participation of girls in our Armed Forces: it was 10%, now it has reached 20.8%, and it is truly a source of pride and pleasure to see girls in the ranks of even the most sophisticated special forces.

We know very well the history of how the industrial base of the Armed Forces was completely destroyed, we know very well how difficult it was to emerge from the abyss into which the Armed Forces fell. There is no need to tell many stories, but we also know something else very well-that today we have the conditions and opportunities to build an industry that, within this decade, will not only give back a missing asset of the Republic of Albania, precisely the asset of this industry, but within this decade, it will also provide us with a new earning capacity in the financial aspect, to reinvest in the Armed Forces and to reinvest in the life of the country.

I am very happy that today we also have a team that was specifically built for this, not just the ministry, but Deputy Minister Blerina, who left a much more respected position in the highest levels of military industry governance in the Middle East after a very respected experience in one of the largest global military excellence companies, 'Leonardo' in Italy; we have Dorian, who is an important asset to us, but we have now made him available to the new Defense Industry Agency; we have Ardi, whom we entrusted with the leadership of KAYO, our new national production company, and of course, Enkelejd, who was the first to join this leadership group at the Ministry of Defense as a manager.

Above all, we have a new philosophy in this regard-to invest all these new financial capacities available for defense in order to get back what we invest. Foreign companies that want to do business by selling to our Armed Forces should join as partners with KAYO and produce together, both for our internal needs and for export.

We will be an exporting country of military products within this decade; this is the goal, and we are on the path to achieving it, as we see how the discussions with major global excellence companies are progressing, companies that have expressed their willingness to join us in this new venture.
Meanwhile, without a doubt, our goal is to utilize the defense industry to also create an attractive base for talented girls and boys, specialized professionals, who not only will not leave the country but will also return from abroad to contribute to this industry because they will have salaries that are absolutely dignified and entirely reasonable for their demands

Having said all this, I want to conclude by emphasizing the fact that even in terms of military properties, we need to take an important step. For a long time, for far too long, the Albanian army has been stripped of many properties in a spontaneous and incomprehensible manner, while today, the Albanian army possesses many dormant assets that are there out of inertia but are not being used, nor are they put to work, nor are they leased. This is a situation that we must address with the same philosophy.

The Ministry of Defense must also become a center for this aspect, meaning the development of properties that are not for military purposes by the Armed Forces, but properties that belong to the Armed Forces. Our philosophy is that, just as all NATO Ministries of Defense do, and as all developed countries do, we should build partnerships rather than liquidate properties. The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces should be able to generate income because the army today requires a lot of money, and we are all increasing our budgets, which is normal. However, on the other hand, this territory, this sector, this direction has the potential to also generate significant income for the army, to create a production base, an export base, a resource management base, so that we can have an army that truly serves as a national reference point, an asset admired by all, and a space where anyone, whether in uniform or with skills related to technology or many other aspects from civilian life, can see a future and have the ambition to become part of the Armed Forces.

I thank you very much, with great trust and conviction, that just as today we look back and feel good about what we have done, at the end of this decade, when we look back at this day or this moment of this journey, we will feel very good because the Army, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, and the entire delicate sector of guaranteeing the security and constitutional territorial integrity of the Republic of Albania will truly be one of the most outstanding points of the country's crown.

Thank you once again and with much respect, with much gratitude to all of you, and with special gratitude to your families because at the end of the day, you know better than I do, but I also know something-that when we are in duty, the heaviest burden and the most special sacrifice are actually borne by our families, our spouses, our children, and our relatives. So, with much respect and gratitude to them, I wish you all the very best.

Thank you very much!