BRUSSELS 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday hosted Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, praising Tirana as a "staunch ally" despite its size.

"Albania is a staunch ally. Albania will reach the 2% defense spending this year, which is a great commitment," Rutte said, adding that the country is also developing its defense industry through state-owned enterprises.

"You are really punching above your weight. You are quite tall. But still, Albania is not the biggest ally, and Albania is doing a lot," he added.

Rama, for his part, underlined Albania’s ambition to contribute more to the alliance, announcing plans for a "rebirth" of the country's military industry and the construction of a new military port in Porto Romano.

He also voiced interest in joining the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program, which extends security cooperation beyond the bloc’s borders and could further benefit NATO allies in Europe.

SAFE, adopted by EU leaders in May, will provide competitively priced, long-term loans to accelerate urgent defense procurement.

It forms part of the European Commission's ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030, aiming to mobilize over €800 billion ($948 billion) in defense spending.

While the loans will be available only to EU member states, Ukraine and EEA-EFTA countries will also be eligible to participate in joint procurement under the scheme.