page_title: Albania–NATO relations
section_title: Bucharest summit accession protocols
hierarchical_section_title: Albania–NATO relations / Bucharest summit accession protocols
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati looks on before a bilateral meeting on September 5, 2014, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: The accession of Albania to NATO took place in 2009. Albania's relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began in 1992 when it joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. In 1994, it entered NATO's Partnership for Peace, which began Albania's process of accession into the alliance. In 1999, the country received a Membership Action Plan. The country received an invitation to join at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and became a full member on April 1, 2009.
  Albania was among the first Eastern European countries to join the Partnership for Peace programme. Albanian politicians considered admission to NATO a top priority. Since 1992 Albania has been extensively engaged with NATO and has maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of United States and EU in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans. In addition to the political will, the overwhelming majority of 95% of the Albanian population supported NATO membership.
context_section_description: At the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit,  NATO member states signed accession protocols for Albania and Croatia. A signing ceremony was held, and witnessed by the foreign ministers of the two countries. Individual NATO member states must ratify the protocols according to their national requirements and procedures. NATO hoped to have it completed by the next NATO summit in April 2009.
caption: Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With Albanian Prime Minister Rama Before Bilateral Meeting at NATO Summit in Wales
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