Tirana Connectivity Forum, focus on investments for security/ Vengu: It is the moment to fulfill every country's commitment to defense
The 11th edition of the Tirana Connectivity Forum was held this Tuesday. Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, was present at one of the main panels, where the role of the Western Balkans in security was discussed. In his speech, Vengu stated that Albania is making real efforts for this initiative.
“At the moment, the countries of the region do not have a fully harmonized transport system. The way we trade, the way we transport, the way we manage logistics, the border crossings, the type of trains we use, the type of railway, the type of energy we consume, the type of transport, all of these are a big mess. A mobility corridor from a military perspective is something that requires a lot of effort from the host countries. So this is probably not the first time. It is not just about benefiting from EU funds. In fact, Albania is already preventing the situation. We are already spending more than 400 million euros on the entrance fees of corridor 8, on the new dedicated facility in Porto Romano, the rail link, to show that we have a real interest in this initiative.
Among other things, Vengu said that NATO and the EU should invest in concrete projects in the region.
“Joint investment with national budgets in the EU, and even with financial support from NATO, in connectivity infrastructure and military corridors offers a truly win-win situation. This gives NATO and the EU the opportunity to have concrete projects in which they can engage from a connectivity perspective. We have made some progress in reaching consensus on these issues. Now is the time for each country’s commitment to be fulfilled.”
Also present at this panel were the Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, Atanas Zapryanov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Zoran Dimitrovski.
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