Regional Conference – Tirana, March 11-12 2010
Donor: NATO Public Diplomacy Division & US. Embassy in Tirana
Partners: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On March 11t-12, civil society representatives from across the Western Balkans gathered in Tirana, Albania, to discuss NATO’s new strategic direction at a conference organized by the Albanian Institute for Democracy and Mediation. About 100 participants came from Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Kosovo, Montenegroand Serbia.
The conference conducted in partnership with Albanian Foreign Ministry, which also hosted two members of the Experts Group on the new Strategic Concept, Amb. Yannis-Alexis Zepos from Greeceand Amb. Umit Pamir from Turkey, for official consultations on the new strategy. The experts are touring Allied capitals to gather input for the report they are due to give the Secretary General on 5 May. Many university students from Tirana participated in the event, contributing to a lively debate. They reminded the experts and security community that the new Strategic Concept should be as simple as possible and provide answers to key questions that matter to citizens of Allied states.