Statement by Prime Minister Edi Rama over the U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) decision to locate a forward-based Special Operation Forces’ headquarters in Albania:
The Germany-based U.S. Special Operations Command Europe released a statement announcing the decision to set up a forward-based Special Operation Forces’ headquarters in Albania. “The location of the forward HQ in Albania – according to the statement – will provide increased interoperability with our Albanian allies, important access to transportation hubs in the Balkans and greater logistical flexibility. Albania remains a strong NATO ally and the US enjoys a strong relationship with the Albanian government and Ministry of Defense, which makes the placement of a for-ward HQ in the allied nation a natural fit. Plus, this location greatly reduces travel times and increases flexibility of both special operations and conventional forces in the region. This would not be possible without the tremendous support of the Albanian government,” but this is not the most important.
Most importantly, today we received fantastic news that, for the sake of truth, we have been already working on for a while. It is an expression of an extremely high credibility. It is an expression of a very close cooperation and on this occasion I would like to publicly thank – although it is something I don’t really like when I do it, yet it should be done when it should, because ambassadors just do their job and our obsession to appreciate ambassadors is something we need to ultimately put an end to, but Ambassador Yuri Kim really deserves appreciation for incredibly facilitating this interaction, allowing us to engage in a high-level communication for a relatively stable period now, though not a long one.
Thank you very much! That was it, but I wanted to inform you straight from the office, as we were impatiently looking forward to the announcement of this good news, even for those who keep complaining and asking us: “Where are our weapons? Where are our helicopters? Where are our rifles?” We are not only a NATO member, but we are now the country hosting the forward-based headquarters of the U.S. Special Operations Command Europe.
