US, Albania, Welcome Agreement on ‘Trustworthy’ 5G

Albania is the latest country to join the queue in the region for reliable 4G and 5G networks after Prime Minister Edi Rama signed a memorandum with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels on Sunday.

Without explicitly mentioning the Chinese giant, the agreement likely excludes China's Huawei from the competition.

The deal comes a week after Romania promulgated a law that prohibits ties with China's 5G network and after both Serbia and Kosovo committed themselves to former US President Donald Trump in September 2020 to "prohibit the use of 5G equipment supplied by untrusted vendors in their communications networks".

Last October, the US signed a document with North Macedonia, emphasizing "the importance of encouraging the participation of reliable and trustworthy network hardware and software suppliers in 5G markets, taking into account risk profile assessments, and promoting frameworks that effectively protect 5G networks from unauthorized access or interference".

Secretary of State Blinken said the agreement with Albania was important and sent a message to others.

"I think we're setting a very strong example together here today, particularly on the need to make sure that when it comes to our most sensitive technology and networks we have, we're working with trusted vendors. That's particularly important now and a strong message to send out," Blinken said.

He added that the partnership between the two countries was becoming stronger and that he appreciated Rama's leadership in this.

Rama said the moment was an important one, and that he worked for this initiative for years and had also asked other countries in the region to join it.

"For me and for us, in Albania, it is a very important moment...