Kosovo and Albania aim to co-produce military equipment

Kosovo and Albania are discussing deepening cooperation in the field of defense industry, including co-production and joint purchases, the defense ministers of both countries said.

Following the meeting in Pristina between the Albanian Minister of Defense, Ermal Nufi, and his Kosovar counterpart, Ejup Maqedonci, the defense leaders highly valued cooperation in the defense industry.

The Macedonian was asked to specify what this cooperation entails. He said that the two countries have already made strides in developing the defense industry.

"We have made a contract for a factory for the production of ammunition," he said, referring to the agreement reached in December 2024 with the Turkish state-owned manufacturer, MKE.

The Kosovo government has previously said that the factory will be built in Jahoc, Gjakova, with the first production expected to be released at the end of 2026.

The Macedonian said that Kosovo is also in coordination with other partners on the issue of co-production.

"We are talking about cooperation with Albania in the field of industry, we are talking in two directions. It is co-production, so we are looking at the possibilities in which fields we can co-produce and this will be done in the upcoming period when we form groups and teams to identify what we can co-produce. But also in co-procurement of systems that make us interoperable. We also have in the declaration with Albania and Croatia as one of the key points co-production, but also joint procurement as three countries to enable us to be interoperable and quality equipment", said the Macedonian.

On the other hand, Minister Nufi said that discussions on cooperation in the defense industry are essential.

"Cooperation in this field is essential for our capacities and guaranteeing the security of both countries. I believe that this discussion will continue further with all the production plants that are being built in Kosovo and Albania, as a symbol not only of technological and industrial development, but also of fraternal cooperation," he said.

While Kosovo is aiming to produce ammunition, Albania, in early April, decided to take the first steps towards the production of combat drones, as well as the construction and repair of military and civilian floating motor vehicles, authorizing the reaching of agreements with defense companies.

Cooperation in the field of security and defense between Kosovo and Albania is also foreseen in the declaration that Pristina, Tirana and Zagreb signed last year.

Serbia has seen this cooperation as a military alliance against it and the Serbs, but this claim has been consistently denied by Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia.

Nufi was also asked whether he had raised concerns in NATO about arming Serbia with Chinese weapons. However, he said that regarding this issue, "the Republic of Serbia decides on its own the issue of armament or how it considers its security issues, how it has military doctrines in relation to security."

Two days ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Serbia would purchase new weapons as it is allegedly facing pressure from neighboring countries.

"The security situation is somewhat more complicated than in January, when we addressed it, mainly due to further actions and activities of the military alliance of Pristina, Tirana and Zagreb," Vučić said early Wednesday.

The GeoPost