Croatia, Albania expect NATO membership at April summit

Croatia and Albania expect to become full members of NATO at its summit in April, the defense ministers of the two countries said in the Croatian capital Zagrebon Wednesday.

The two Western Balkan countries expect the process of ratification of the protocols on their accession to NATO to be completed in March in all NATO member states, since they were invited to join the alliance at the Bucharest summit in April 2008,the official Croatian news agency HINA reported.

Croatian Defense Minister Branko Vukelic and his Albanian counterpart Gazmend Oketa said they were pleased with the cooperation within the U.S.-Adriatic Charter, during which Albania and Croatia were preparing for NATO membership, and that their countries were ready to convey their experiences to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, which had joined the initiative now known as A5.

"It is necessary to continue our cooperation and include all our neighbors in the region. It is in our interest that those countries follow the path of Croatia and Albania for the sake of security and stability of the whole region," Vukelic was quoted assaying.

Vukelic said that a meeting of defense ministers of A5 countries, neighboring countries and representatives of the EU, the U.S. and NATO would be held in Zagreb in early March to discuss security processes in the region ahead of NATO's summit in Strasbourg and Kehl.

Oketa said he was confident that Croatia and Albania would continue "in the same spirit of cooperation" after joining NATO and would convey their experiences to other countries in the region.

Oketa and Vukelic also discussed the defense cooperation between their countries, focusing in particular on equipment and modernization projects.

Earlier on Wednesday, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic met with Oketa, who arrived in Zagreb for a two-day official visit.