JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE DEFENDER-EUROPE 21

JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE DEFENDER-EUROPE 21

Context

Recently, the US-Army led multinational, joint exercise ‘DEFENDER-Europe 21’ started in Albania.

Details

• It was launched by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty of April 4, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations.
  • It aims to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
  •  Headquarters : Haren, Brussels and  Belgium.
  • Significance : To constitute a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
• The exercise will utilize key ground and maritime routes bridging Europe, Asia and Africa.

About Albania

• It is a country in Southeastern Europe.
• It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south; and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west.
• Capital : Tirana.