BRUSSELS — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama Wednesday offered a naval base at its Adriatic coast to NATO as a benefit to the military Alliance.

Speaking at a press conference together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels today, Rama said in the meeting with NATO he" introduced his ambition to add another important value to the infrastructure of the Alliance by putting disposal to NATO a state of the art naval base."

The Albanian Prime Minister said the naval base will "be a clean sheet and will be a place where not only we can build , but also build, considering the challenges of our time , from climate change to environmental protection and all the rest."

In his remarks, Stoltenberg did not mention the naval base but said they discussed Russia's war against Ukraine.

"I welcome Albania's support for Ukraine, including your recent pledge of humanitarian aid, and your recent visit to Ukraine was an important demonstration of solidarity," said Stoltenberg.

He welcomed Albania's contributions to NATO's multinational battlegroups in Latvia and Bulgaria, as well as to the Alliance's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

The NATO chief also praised Albania for its commitment to promoting stability and cooperation across the Western Balkans.

According to media reports, Pasha Liman naval base, is located about 170 kilometers south of the capital Tirana, and was built in 1950 by the then Soviet Union. — Agencies