TIRANA – The Albanian Parliament on Monday discussed an agreement on establishment of a deployable multinational medical unit known as Balkan Medical Task Force (BMTF).
Under this agreement, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia commit to establishment of the Balkan Medical Task Force, a deployable multinational medical unit with a mission of supporting crisis response operations.
The Socialist Party MPs highlighted benefits Albania is entitled to in case of natural disasters from the implementation of the agreement.
Socialist MP Elona Hoxha, also member of the Parliament’s National Security Committee, noted that the initiative is the first of its kind to support crisis response operations.
According to her, the agreement, an initiative launched by the United States of America and the Kingdom of Norway, would further strengthen regional cooperation.
“The refugee crisis showed that better coordination is needed and this agreement could be helpful in similar cases,” she noted.
“Deployment of rapid response teams to aid a broad spectrum of regional disaster relief situations under this agreement would bring capabilities that enhance national medical services in any location which means more lives could be saved,” she added.
The draft law on “The ratification of the agreement between the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government of Macedonia, the government of Montenegro, the government of Serbia and the government of Slovenia, on establishment of the Balkan Medical Task Force” requires an absolute majority in the Parliament.