Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Minister of Defense Ermal Nufi attended the inauguration ceremony of the National Flight School on Friday. During his address, Rama highlighted the growing interest among young people in joining the Albanian Air Force, adding that the new institution will also be open to training and certifying pilots from NATO allies in the region.
The Prime Minister also announced that Albania is expanding its capabilities to respond to civil emergencies and the annual wildfire season, noting that additional Black Hawk helicopters from the United States are expected to arrive soon.
“We began this effort facing extraordinary challenges in attracting young people, but today the challenge is choosing among the many applicants who want to join. We now have a significant number of interested candidates.
Our Minister of Defense will ask his counterpart in Kosovo whether there is interest in training Kosovo’s pilots. The same opportunity will be extended to our two other neighboring NATO member states.
We are also preparing to meet the annual challenge of combating wildfires. Work is underway to further strengthen our capacities for the fire season. Additional Black Hawk helicopters from the United States will be added to our fleet.
Another important step is the establishment of the National Special Forces School, which will welcome cadets from allied countries. We want both of these new training institutions to become centers of excellence for education and transformation.
I wish the Air Force every success. I also assure the Navy that its future will become even brighter with the construction of new vessels in Pashaliman. We will also launch another joint investment with KAYO to manufacture drones in Albania, which will be exported after meeting the operational needs of the Albanian Armed Forces,” Rama said.
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