24 Mar. 2005

Albanian Prime Minister visits NATO News 23/03/2005 - NATO Prime Minister of Albania to visit NATO on Thursday, 24 March 2005 Opinion 24/03/2005 - NATO Transcript of the press point with NATO Secretary General and the Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Fatos Nanos Multimedia 24/03/2005 - NATO High resolution photos 24/03/2005 - NATO Audio file of the press point (.MP3/6934kb) The Prime Minister of Albania, Fatos Nano, visited NATO on 24 March to address the North Atlantic Council and meet with the Secretary General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Prime Minister Nano briefed the Council, NATO’s principal decision-making body, on the political and defence reform process in his country, as well as his country’s preparations for their parliamentary elections scheduled for July. Albania is one of three countries participating in NATO’s Membership Action Plan. The programme is designed to assist aspiring partner countries in meeting NATO standards and preparing for possible future membership. Elections an important benchmark Speaking to reporters after their meeting, the Secretary General commended the Prime Minister for Albania’s participation in international peacekeeping and its progress regarding defence reform. He also praised the country for playing “a moderating role” in regard to Kosovo, particularly during the indictment of the former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Mr. Haradinaj. The Secretary General stressed the importance of the July parliamentary elections, saying the standard of their conduct will be “a very important benchmark” by which Albania’s progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration will be judged. “We have noted what has been done in electoral reform, but the fact that we will be able to say, hopefully will be able to say in July - these were free and fair elections … is absolutely important,” Mr. De Hoop Scheffer told reporters.