TIRANA, May 22 /ATA/ – By Maela Marini/ Prime Minister Edi Rama on Monday welcomed the kickoff in Albania of the multinational joint exercise, directed by the US European Command “Defender 2023” which will demonstrate the inter-operational capabilities of the United States with allied and NATO partner armies.

In the ceremony organized on this occasion, Rama said that the conduct of the largest military exercise in Europe for the second time in Albania is a great honor for the Albanian Armed Forces which hosts and participants.

Rama noted that the organization of “Defender 2023” for the second time in Albania highlights the continuous improvement of our military capacities, thanks to the invaluable support of our American allies and other allies of NATO countries.

“Albania has never been higher at the level of international recognition and today, sitting at the UN Security Council table side by side with the USA as co-penholders on the issue of Ukraine, it takes on a profile and a role, which not only burdens it with extraordinary responsibility, but also highlights what progress and what maturity our country has reached,” added Rama.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the conduct of this exercise with the presence of multinational troops under the direction of the USA, is an expression of the great unity and unwavering determination of the entire Euro-Atlantic community to protect at all costs the values ​​and principles on which our societies are founded.

“The exercise reminds us that regardless of the language we speak and the flag we represent, we are inextricably linked to those values ​​and principles that are equally threatened for each of us. All of us together are dictated by our history and our future to function in complete unity,” Rama said.

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