Albania invites Powell for NATO visit

Albania has invited outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Tirana to attend a meeting Albania, Croatia and Macedonia will hold in May next year to mark their efforts to join NATO, the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.

Powell played a significant role in a US-backed initiative under which the three countries are developing a common military strategy and promoting regional cooperation with the aim of eventual NATO membership.

Albanian Foreign Minister Kastriot Islami, who met Powell in Brussels yesterday, thanked him for his contribution to Albania’s efforts to integrate with NATO and invited him to attend a meeting next May marking two years since the signing of the Adriatic 3 Charter, Islami’s press office reported.

The meeting will take place in Tirana on May 2.