TIRANA Former head of the State Intelligence Service, Visho Ajazi on the show "Oponencje" on News24 spoke about security challenges and institutional capacities in Albania, emphasizing the need for greater preparedness in the face of various risks.
He stated that the past period has been challenging for security institutions, also mentioning cases of people who have left and then returned, which according to him shows the complexity of the situations the country faces.
Ajazi stressed that no country is immune from threats, also mentioning cyberattacks as an ever-growing risk.
According to him, the fact that Albania is a tourist country increases the responsibility for security institutions, especially in periods when international movements are facilitated, including the visa regime.
"It has been a challenging time. We are not like the police, we were supposed to have information. But some of it came late, when small children ran away and returned. It was also a post-traumatic period and it had to do with the Service itself rather than society. We have capacities, but are they sufficient? No country is immune, we remember cyber attacks. Being a country today, a tourist destination, we must prepare. We are also lifting visas in the summer, even for Russia, in this case the responsibility is much greater. Institutions of particular importance must be on standby. The whole story is that we prepare so that the damage is minimal. The Service is a very professional institution and I am 100% sure of this. But like any other country, we must be careful even though we cooperate with allies," he said, among other things.
