Albania has received the invitation from NATO to join the military club at its summit this week, Albanian foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"On behalf of all Parties, I am particularly honored to communicate to the Government of the Republic of Albania an invitation to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty," Jaap de Hoop Scheffe, secretary-general of NATO, said in his letter to Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha.
Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha hailed on Tuesday Albania 's entry into NATO this week as a dream coming true for the western Balkan country.
"NATO membership is the most important act in Albania's history, " Berisha said.
Albania and Croatia, invited to join NATO at the Bucharest Summit last year, will join the alliance at a NATO summit on Friday and Saturday in France and Germany, becoming the 27th and 28th member country of the club, Xinhua reported.
Albania was the first eastern European country to apply for NATO membership, and polls have shown that more than 94 percent of Albanians back the move.