Attending the evaluation meeting were Minister of Defense Ermal Nufi, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Arben Kingji, commanders and directors of the Armed Forces structures.

Alongside security and operational readiness, the military made strong progress in recruitment, training, operations, modernization, infrastructure, and resource management.

The next priority is fully integrating these capabilities through personnel training and infrastructure development. This will boost operational readiness and strengthen Albania’s role in collective defense.

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The new digital portal demonstrated strong initial adoption, processing 9,797 service applications and instantly issuing 13,139 digitally sealed documents. Furthermore, it securely delivered over 51,500 documents to citizen and business accounts, while attracting more than 200 new users on its very first day of operation.

The new e-Albania 2.0—a faster, safer, and more inclusive platform. Built on modern infrastructure, it offers citizens and businesses a seamless digital experience. With enhanced accessibility features, we are proud to deliver truly barrier-free public services for everyone.

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Supported by the government and in cooperation with the Albanian Development Fund, the project will unify the Day Hospital, Health Center, local health administration, and a new Therapeutic and Rehabilitation Center for children aged 0-18.

Health Minister Albana Koçiu and the Head of the Development Fund, Dritan Agolli, inspected the progress, highlighting plans to provide diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation services including beds and outpatient care for children with special needs.

Minister Koçiu emphasized that the center represents a unique project combining primary healthcare with social services, aiming to serve both medical and rehabilitative needs.

“The Peqin Hospital will not only function as a hospital but also as a health center offering comprehensive services. Thanks to government vision and support from the Development Fund, this national center will be unique in Albania,” she said.

The hospital complex spans 5,000 square meters and will serve approximately 39,000 residents in Peqin and surrounding areas, providing essential day hospital services alongside the therapeutic center.

Koçiu detailed the phased renovation, beginning with improvements to infrastructure hosting the Health Center and emergency services, followed by a complete overhaul of the hospital building to serve children with special needs.

The Therapeutic and Rehabilitation Center will feature 64 therapy rooms divided into 16 functional zones across five departments: medical, therapeutic, psychological, educational, and support services. It will offer multidisciplinary care by neurologists, pediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers.

Programs include early intervention for infants, individual and group therapies, music and art therapy, occupational and speech therapy, and educational and psychological support.

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“It is very good news. In its latest report, the leading international ratings agency, ‘Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings’, a fixed reference point for financial markets and investors, has again upgraded Albania’s long-term credit rating to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-‘, taking the country to a new level, and confirming from this perspective Albania’s unstoppable progress,” PM Rama said in a social media post.

The Ministry of Finance said earlier today that the latest S&P upgrade reflects Albania’s stable economic and fiscal performance over recent years.

General government gross debt has fallen by 10 percentage points of the GDP since 2019, whereas the current account deficit has more than halved, and net foreign direct investment flows have remained robust.

The recent S&P ratings upgrade is also driven by the service exports that have more than doubled since 2019, reflecting the success of tourism sector in particular.

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In a statement, the Ratings Agency also &P affirmed its ‘B’ short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings and revised Albania’s transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’.

“Large net foreign direct investment (FDI), remittance inflows, and rapid increase of service exports underpin Albania’s solid economic prospects, despite elevated geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections,” the Agency said.

S&P projects Albania’s real GDP growth to remain above 3% until 2028, driven by investment and consumption.

However, the Global Ratings Agency underlined that structural challenges persist, including shrinking workforce and sustained emigration, while its reliance on tourism and external demand from key EU markets adds economic vulnerability.

According to S&P, fiscal risks also persist due to high foreign currency debt, short domestic debt maturities, and substantial public-private partnership commitments.

The Agency also noted that diplomatic tensions with Greece could challenge its EU accession progress.

This is the second upward revision by S&P in a year. On March 23, 2024, the Agency upgraded Albania’s long-term sovereign credit rating for the first time to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’, highlighting the country’s improving fiscal and external position.

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Peleshi emphasized that, “Being one of the elite units of the Armed Forces and a dedicated capacity in the NATO as ready for combat, this battalion is receiving due attention also in terms of its upgrade”.

“The Second Infantry Battalion, as one of the elite structures of the Armed Forces and a dedicated capacity in NATO as ready for combat, is also receiving due attention in terms of upgrade, from the NATO standard personal light weapons, mortars 120 mm and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles”, the minister added. /m.m/r.e/p.s./

Delegations from Croatia and Luxembourg participated in this activity, too.

The guests visited different stands to familiarize themselves with the latest technology in the field of security and defense.

During the meeting, Gassilloud expressed his satisfaction with the presence of the Balkan counterparts at the meeting.

Chairman of the Committee for National Security Nasip Naço said that Albania is engaged in fulfilling the duties arising as a result of our presence in the NATO, while he emphasized the investments that have been made in recent years in direction of modernization of the Albanian army, the police or other law enforcement bodies.

He underlined the excellent Parliamentary cooperation that exists between France and Albania, especially mentioning the exchange of visits of the respective Friendship Groups and in this regard invited Gassilloud to visit Tirana at a convenient time for him./p.s./

Peleshi said that the budget for 2022 is 32% higher compared to this year’s budget.

“The defense budget is 32.6 billion ALL, while 102% is the increase in the invoice of investments in the 2022 budget. So, we have a double-fold increase of investments in the field of security and defense”, said Peleshi.

The minister also stressed that, “Albania has submitted to NATO a graph according to which the Defense budget will go to 2% of GDP in 2024”.

“With 1.75% of GDP that this budget has in 2022, we abide by the commitment and become a dignified country in the NATO”, said Peleshi.

The minister singled out as historical and tangible achievement of this budget the increase of salaries by 30% from the soldier, to the one with highest rank. Peleshi said that there are more than 6 thousand beneficiaries from this decision./j.p/r.e/p.s./

Peleshi said that, “Our Air Force is being equipped with the best control systems, while very soon, new “Black Hawk” helicopters will be delivered”.

“On this 70th anniversary of our Air Force, I express my gratitude to all the people who have served in this force and I bow with respect to all the martyrs,” he added.

The first flight of the Albanian military aircraft took place on April 24, 1951. /m.m/j.p/p.s./