
Albania marks the 17th anniversary of its NATO membership on April 1.
After the overthrow of the communist regime in 1991, Albania began the process of cooperation and membership in international organizations, including NATO.
Albania's NATO membership process began in 1992, with the country's official admission to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), which was the first organization created by the Alliance to build relations with states that emerged from communist regimes in Europe.
One of the important developments in this process is that of 2003, when Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia (today North Macedonia) together with the US signed the "Adriatic Charter 3 - US", which was considered an initiative that would prepare these countries for NATO membership.
Albania received an invitation to join NATO at the Bucharest summit on April 2, 2008, while on April 25 of the same year, Albania officially began talks for membership in the Alliance.
Albania officially joined NATO on April 1, 2009, and participated for the first time as a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the summit held in Strasbourg/Kehl on April 4, 2009.