Albania working to improve its military

Albania working to improve its military

Manpower and equipment upgrades are key challenges to improve the country's military capacity.

Albania Defence Minister Mimi Kodheli inspects a military command post during a training exercise. [Albania Ministry of Defence]

Albania plans to upgrade its military capabilities to enable its armed forces to fulfil the entire spectrum of operational duties as a NATO member, officials said.

The country's motorised infantry battalion is the main obligation under the capacity required by NATO, said Edlira Prendi, spokesperson for the Albania defence ministry.

"Developing this battalion will be considered a priority by the general staff of the armed forces, and is reflected in all plans for restructuring, modernisation and training for 2014," Prendi told SETimes.

But Albania, like many NATO member states, faces a difficult choice between a NATO requirement to allocate 2 percent of the GDP to the military as opposed to spending on competing civilian programmes in education, healthcare and unemployment, according to Defence Minister Mimi Kodheli.

The government allocated 1.4 percent of its GDP for the military last year.

"Many of our allies have been affected by the economic crisis," Kodheli said. "While some of our allies' economies are recovering, not all are at the same pace of recovery. [We believe] in a fair burden sharing and a reasonable challenge regarding the targets that we will be assigned and accept as part of the NATO defence planning process."

NATO officials said reforms to provide the right manpower in the face of budget cuts is crucial to successful military modernisation.

Operational commitments such as in Afghanistan, coupled with...