The meeting took place on the fringes of the visit that the defense minister made to the military engaged in the NATO-led mission in Kosovo.
Minister Pinotti, accompanied by the chief of staff of defense Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli and the commander of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) divisional general Salvatore Farina, was received by Minister Agim Ceku with whom he discussed the security situation in the area Balkan with particular reference to Kosovo.
In this context Minister Ceku underlined the fruitful cooperation established between the Institutions of Kosovo with particular regard to the dicastery he directed and the multinational military forces of the KFOR mission which, since last September, is led by an Italian general.
Specifically, the letter of intent signed this afternoon aims to strengthen the bonds of friendship and respect between the two countries and to intensify cooperation in the field of defense and security forces in the light of a shared vision regarding the values and rights fundamental rights of citizens such as freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the pursuit of peace.
At the end of the meeting, the two ministers, in reaffirming the importance of signing the document, expressed their desire to intensify the relations and consultations between the two departments also in order to elaborate and better define the details of cooperation and specific future projects. .
"We will intensify in the future the bilateral dialogue on security and defense issues at a political level" - underlined Minister Pinotti and his colleague Ceku in a joint statement - "the next step will be the development of a detailed cooperation agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo in which specific projects will be better detailed in the field of training, training and the implementation of the capabilities of the personnel and units of the Kosovo Security Force within the established mandate which is to intervene in support and at the request of the civil authorities in response to emergency situations and civil protection including the clearance of explosive devices, search and rescue, the management of dangerous substances and fire fighting, the use of engineering departments and in the field of military health ".
Source: Public Affairs Office HQ KFOR Film City - Prishtina, Kosovo
