Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Cakaj attended the ceremony hosted by the German Marshall Fund in Brussels to celebrate the three rounds of post-Cold War enlargement of the Atlantic Alliance, underpinning the importance of the transatlantic bond to security and stability on the European Continent following enlargement in 1999, 2004, and 2009, with the latter marking also the accession of Albania to this Alliance.

This event was an occasion to underline how important the enlargement with countries from the former Eastern bloc was to Alliance, as well as the valuable commitment and contribution of these countries to addressing the security challenges NATO is faced with today.

Ten years away from its accession to NATO, Albania ranks among the active countries, and plays a role well appreciated both in terms of the military contribution to peace and security concerning challenges for the Eastern and Southern wings of the Alliance, and in terms of the progress in delivering on the commitments made to increase and strengthen its defensive capacities, in line with the Alliance goals.

The special invitees to today’s ceremony included representatives from the Allies, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, and Croatia, joining NATO in the course of its enlargement between 1999 and 2019.