-Question:

What concrete commitment did Albania make at the Ankara Summit, particularly regarding increasing defence capabilities and defence spending?

Also, were there any new requests or expectations from the allies toward our country after it was confirmed that the next summit will be held here in Tirana?

-Answer:

Good evening!

You gave an excellent summary of the outcomes of today’s Summit, a special moment for the Alliance, a special moment for all member states, naturally also for Albania, a very important moment for the security of the countries in our region and the entire Euro-Atlantic area.

Albania came to this summit with very clear ideas, with a position that is already known and established, and with commitments to increase the defence budget in both essential components; very clear, predetermined, communicated to the Alliance, and part of our country’s commitments alongside all the other countries in the Alliance’s new approach to strengthening defence capabilities, the European component of NATO; and with the projection that by 2035 all NATO member states may reach 5% of gross domestic product in defence spending.

This is a well-established commitment, including in our case; one that has been carefully scheduled for a progressive increase in defence spending through 2035.

Our positions have been more or less those emphasized in the Alliance’s declaration: strengthening the Alliance, strengthening security, demonstrating once again the Alliance’s unity, and the need to remain united in the face of the foremost and fundamental threat, namely the Russian threat, as well as other threats such as hybrid threats, so that the Alliance not only becomes stronger but also remains the backbone of defence, security, and development throughout its entire area.

-Question:

Given that the next NATO summit will be held in Tirana, as was decided, what message did Albania receive from its allies regarding its organization?

What are the diplomatic and security priorities that our country must fulfil, and when is the summit expected to take place, considering that the final declaration did not specify the year 2027?

-Answer:

The announcement that the summit will be held in Tirana, which is the result of at least two years of work by the Albanian government, its institutions, the Foreign Service, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, and all those involved in the essential relations with the Alliance, is absolutely good news.

As I told you, this is one of the major commitments of these times and perhaps another milestone in Albania’s presentation to the world, showcasing the capabilities and maturity that Albania has achieved in earning prestige through the organization of major events.

Naturally, this will be the first Alliance summit ever organized in our history, and it will be another milestone in presenting our country to the world.

We believe that the way it was announced reflected a common approach. It was not necessary to emphasize it again in this declaration, since it had already been provided for in the declaration of the summit held in The Hague in 2025, stating that the summit after Ankara would be held in Tirana. Therefore, to provide greater flexibility (bearing in mind that summits have historically been held every two years, but since the Russian aggression they have been held every year), we will align ourselves with the need for a more direct and more frequent approach to analysing the situation in the Euro-Atlantic area. And naturally, considering that these analyses continue to evolve, the allies are determined that there is no question that the next summit will be held in Tirana.

We will need to continue discussions to determine when the most appropriate time will be. It may be in 2027, naturally if we reach agreement on the necessary elements for holding the summit in Tirana, or it may perhaps be at the beginning of the following year.

For us, this is not of great importance because we have already begun our preparations, we will continue those preparations, and we will be capable of carrying it out just as we did with the European Political Community, and likewise with this major undertaking, the first of its kind in Albania’s history.

We aim to live up to the professionalism we have demonstrated and to the hospitality that the Albanian side has already shown and unquestionably proven.

We are working on it, our structures are clearly defined, we have established a task force that was also present in Ankara to gain experience, it has also visited Brussels, and now we will continue working at a much faster pace because we now know that, within a certain period of time, we will have to welcome all the leaders, the allies, and everyone connected with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.