Kosovo, Albania and Croatia will hold their first joint military exercise

Kosovo, Albania and Croatia will hold their first joint trilateral exercise this year, which will be in line with NATO's strategic concept "and Euro-Atlantic objectives."

This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Albania, Pirro Vengu, after a trilateral meeting of the defense chiefs of the three states took place today, within the framework of a declaration they reached last year on the field of defense.

The meeting in Albania focused on discussions on expanding cooperation through joint training and exercises, the Kosovo Security Force said.

Through a statement, the Kosovo Security Force said that General Bashkim Jashari represented Kosovo at this trilateral meeting, where security challenges, deepening military cooperation, increasing interoperability and advancing defense capacities in accordance with Euro-Atlantic standards were discussed.

Albania was represented at the meeting by General Arben Kingji, while Croatia was represented by General Tihomir Kundid.

"The meeting confirmed the shared commitment to lasting peace, stability and security in the region. This meeting also emphasized the readiness to expand cooperation through joint training and exercises, exchange of experiences and strategic coordination," the announcement said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Defense of Albania, Pirro Vengu, described this meeting as an important step, which is within the framework of the trilateral declaration on the field of defense.

"More military cooperation, more interoperability, more operational readiness," Vengu wrote on social media.

The KSF said that this defense statement represents an "example of strong partnership" and the three states' shared vision for a safer and more stable region.

According to the defense field declaration reached last year, there are four main areas of cooperation, which include promoting cooperation in the field of defense capabilities and the defense industry, increasing interoperability through education, training and joint exercises, addressing hybrid threats and strengthening resilience, as well as providing continued and full support for Euro-Atlantic integration.

This defense pact states that the three countries will cooperate to increase security and stability in Southeast Europe.

The Defense Ministers of the three countries held a meeting earlier in February where they discussed the implementation of this declaration.

The declaration on cooperation in the field of defense, signed in March last year, was described as a "military and offensive alliance against Serbs and Serbia" by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

The signatories of the declaration say that it is not against anyone, not even Serbia, as Albania's Defense Minister, Pirro Vengu, said at the end of January this year that he had invited Serbia to become part of this pact, but Belgrade has not responded to this invitation.

Croatia and Albania are part of the western military alliance NATO, where Kosovo hopes to join.

Based on this agreement, among other things, Pristina, Tirana and Zagreb plan to make joint purchases of weapons from the United States.