TIRANA, April  19 /ATA/ President of the Republic, Bajram Begaj, participated in the annual outreach event of the alumni of the “George C. Marshall” European Center for Security Studies.

The Marshall Center was established by the American-German partnership 30 years ago to help promote peace and stability in Eastern Europe.

Throughout these 30 years, the “Marshall” Center has produced more than 300 alumni from Albania in the fields of defense, security, diplomacy, justice and academia.

Begaj said that as the “Marshall” Center celebrates its 30th anniversary, it is important to remember that this institution was established to help promote peace and stability in Eastern Europe.

“The ‘Marshall’ Center has always been ready to help the Albanian government in important projects, which includes assistance in drafting the National Security Strategy,” he said.

Begaj expressed his gratitude for the great support provided by the “Marshall” Center and the US and German governments over the past 30 years, with the aim of increasing our capacities in the fields of security, defense, democratization and strengthening our national stability.

President emphasized that “today, the values ​​of democratic governance are more important than ever, as well as the critical importance of continuing our investment in transatlantic relations.”

“The threats we face are not imaginary, but real. For our Euro-Atlantic community, the current geopolitical climate makes it a priority to closely  cooperate on shared goals such as security, peace and well-being,” he said.

The President also emphasized that “today, we are facing complex and hybrid challenges, where cyber space is one of them.”

“We are very grateful to our allies for their support and assistance in building and strengthening our cyber capabilities and resilience. Our bitter experience exemplifies the challenges we face, where state and non-state actors with malicious and destabilizing intentions can attack with a sense of impunity. These cases demonstrate the importance of strengthening the Alliance and the Euro-Atlantic partnership. Specifically, the German-American relationship of the Marshall Center is an excellent example of successful partnerships,” he said.

/sm/