At the Navy Force Command in Plepa is held today the fifth consecutive contingent ceremony of the NATO operation "Sea Guardian". The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Defense, Petro Koci, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigade General Ded Prenga, Prefect of Durres, Mr. Emiljano Jani, Commanders of Forces and Military Commands of Armed Forces, Directors of Directorates at the General Staff, the Director of the Inter-Institutional Marine Operational Center, staff and naval staff of the Naval Forces Department, and members of the crew of the "Oriku", members of the operation.
The ceremony was opened by the Deputy Commander of the Naval Force, 1st Gen Captain Subi Zenelaj, who initially congratulated the "Oriku" crew. Captain Zenelaj stressed that, "I feel proud of the fact that the first four first contingents carried out successfully the mission in charge. With our prominent professionalism and dedication, our crews showed that they are equal to the allies' side in realizing the mission of observing, monitoring and reporting migrant traffic in the area of responsibility, according to the task set by the NATO Naval Command."
Subsequently, Deputy Minister Koci praised our country's contribution to this specific operation through the participation of the Maritime Force and the achievement of the required standards in this field, saying that "The participation in the Aegean Sea operation is a valuable experience that will serve the increase of operational capacity, interaction with NATO and the professionalism of the Naval Force."The ceremony continued with the submission of the National Flag by the Deputy Minister of Defense to the 5th contingent commander, Captain Ilir Cobo, who will lead the contingent for the next two months.
This contingent replaces the contingent deployed to the Aegean Sea in June this year as part of NATO's "Sea Guardian" operation in the framework of international efforts to stop illegal trafficking and emigration in the region.
The Naval Group SNMG2, part of which is an Albanian ship, consists of German, Dutch, British, Greek and Turkish vessels./Oculus News