The Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, stated during his speech at the meeting of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group that activities in the field of defense have been guided by the principle of increasing defense budgets.

According to the minister, an important strategic step is the finalization of negotiations with the Italian giant Fincantieri, paving the way for government approval of a joint company for naval vessels in Pashaliman.

Among other points, Vengu emphasized that strengthening municipalities has been achieved through a new method of cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture. According to him, this fund has significantly increased financing for 47 municipalities.

He cited Lezha and Gramsh as examples, noting that emergency budgets have tripled there, while funding has increased sixfold in Prrenjas and sevenfold in Delvina.

The minister also stated that the government has distributed €10 million to all municipalities. According to him, the fund is intended for the construction of dams, bridges, and river barriers.

“Most recently, €10 million has been allocated for dams, river barriers, and bridges for all municipalities. We are also renewing the national emergency and firefighting fleet. An additional €2 million has been allocated, with the National Civil Protection Agency and KAYO set to produce ‘Made in Albania’ vehicles, and in May we will begin delivering these vehicles, which will be distributed to municipalities.

The focus is on prevention, particularly through river barriers, dams, and addressing flood damage from recent months. The third pillar is human capital — over the past 14 months, 1,000 military personnel have been added,” Vengu said.