Anniversary/ 16 years since Albania's membership in NATO

2025-04-01 15:48:00, Aktualitet CNA

Today, Albania commemorates the 16th anniversary of its NATO membership. This anniversary was also commemorated by the highest state officials.

On April 1, 2009, Albania became a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO, following the completion of the ratification of the Accession Protocol by all allied countries and the deposit of the instrument of accession to NATO with the Department of State, which is also the legal custodian of the Washington Treaty.

Albania's NATO membership process has gone through several different developments that include the transformation of the Albanian Armed Forces, engagement in peacekeeping missions, and the engagement of Albanian institutions in supporting the Alliance's security policies.

The process begins in 1992, with Albania's official admission to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), which was the first organization created by the Alliance to build relations with the states that emerged from communist regimes in Europe.

One of the important developments in this process is that of May 2003, when Albania, Croatia and Macedonia (today North Macedonia) together with the USA signed the "Adriatic Charter 3 - USA", which according to Albanian authorities was considered an initiative that would prepare the countries' membership in NATO.

Albania received an invitation to join NATO at the Bucharest summit on April 2, 2008, while on April 25 of the same year, Albania officially began talks on NATO membership, which included several political, military, security and legal issues.

Following the completion of the ratification of the accession protocol by all member states and the deposit of the instrument of accession to NATO with the US Department of State, Albania officially joined NATO on April 1, 2009, fulfilling one of its Euro-Atlantic orientation objectives.

Albania participated for the first time as a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the summit held in Strasbourg/Kehl on April 4, 2009, while on April 7, the official ceremony of raising the flags of Albania and Croatia in NATO took place at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels./CNA