Image by Chris Lofting
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has declared NATO will spend a large sum of money, $58 million, to modernize the air base at Kucove, 80 km south of the capital Tirana.
Rama on August 4 wrote on his Facebook page that the move will be done in partnership with the government of Albania, which joined the Western military alliance in 2009. He added that work is expected to begin at some point this year. He said the base will continue to serve Albania’s air force and also be used as a support base for NATO air-supply purposes, logistical support, and for training purposes, reported RFERL.
“Undoubtedly, an investment of these dimensions creates new opportunities for economic and social development of the entire region, where the construction of this new air base of the recent economy is planned,” he wrote.
Rama has been keen to please NATO and the EU to keep dollars flowing into the country. For instance, he agreed to accept the transfer of 3,200 members of the MEK, Iranian resistance fighters, from Iraq where they had been persecuted and many killed by the pro-Shia government.
