Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, right, shakes hands with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a joint news conference after they sing bilateral agreements in Tirana, Albania, Thursday. [Vlasov Sulaj/AP Photo]
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will give a “considerable” number of kamikaze drones of an unspecified type to Albania, the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama has said.
“It is a present that comes as a strong message from the Republic of Turkey that Albania is unhittable,” Rama told a joint news conference during on one-day visit by Erdogan.
The so-called kamikaze drone is a loitering munition that cruises towards its target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
A spokesperson for the government contacted by Reuters was unable to provide any further details on the number or type of drones.
Rama also said that the acquisition of an unspecified number of Turkish kamikaze drones does not mean “Albania will attack anyone.”
Most countries in the Western Balkans, including Albania, have started to upgrade their aging militaries after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Albania and Turkey are both members of NATO. The government in Tirana has already acquired a fleet of Turkish-made Bayraktar reconnaissance and attack drones.
New Namazgah mosque
Turkey’s president was in Tirana to inaugurate a Turkish-funded mosque with 50-meter-high minarets as part of a trip to boost ties and discuss regional issues.
The new Namazgah mosque in Tirana is one of the largest in the Balkans.
Following a meeting of top officials from both countries, the two sides signed agreements to boost cooperation in agriculture and education.
Turkey is a strategic partner of Albania and one of its largest investors, contributing to infrastructure and other sectors. Erdogan said the two countries should aim to double their annual trade to €2 billion.
In comments touching on regional issues, Erdogan denounced Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza as a “genocide” and a “threat to the global order.” He said Israel must pressured into an urgently needed ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid.
Rama also pushed for a ceasefire, but took a different tone on the Palestinian group, saying that “Hamas and any other source of terror have no place in a peaceful future of two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine.”
Construction of the new mosque was started in 2015 with some €30 million from the state-run Turkish Muslim organization Diyanet.
The construction already had been completed for more than a year, but the inauguration was delayed because of Erdogan’s concerns that a group that Turkey calls the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO, would have influence over the mosque.
Under agreements reached with the local Albanian Muslim community, Turkey’s Diyanet organization will have representation on the mosque’s governing board.
Turkey says that FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated a failed coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 wounded. Gulen has denied any involvement.
In addition to the four minarets, the Namazgah mosque has a central dome of 30 meters and the capacity to hold 8,000 people. It sits on a 10,000-square-meter parcel of land near Albania’s parliament, and the first floor includes a cultural center.
The site is near landmark Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals.
Sunni Muslims make up nearly 46% of Albania’s population, and Bektashi Muslims another 5%. Catholics are 8% and Orthodox Christians 7%, according to a 2023 census. The various religious groups live together peacefully without tensions. [Reuters, AP]
