Kosovo, a nation that relied on NATO peacekeepers for its own security in the aftermath of its war with Serbia, is preparing to send dozens of its soldiers abroad for the first time as part of the international force tasked with stabilizing Gaza.

“Our country has been a security consumer, meaning NATO countries have contributed to the security of the Republic of Kosovo,” Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci told The Associated Press. “Today we are entering a phase where we are becoming a provider, or exporter, of security.”

Kosovo’s parliament is set to formally approve the deployment on Friday, ratifying an earlier government decision to commit troops to the International Stabilization Force, a U.S.-backed mission established following last year’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The contingent will include several dozen officers, among them personnel from demining units, Maqedonci said. Their tasks will include humanitarian support, security assistance and other duties set by the mandate of the Gaza force. Final preparations are underway, with a U.S. representative assisting on vaccinations, visas and other technical arrangements.

The symbolism of the deployment runs deep in Pristina. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a split recognized by the United States and most of the European Union but still rejected by Belgrade. The path to statehood was opened by NATO’s 1999 intervention, which forced Serb troops out of the territory after Belgrade’s crackdown on Kosovo’s separatist rebels and cleared the way for the international peacekeeping deployment that has underwritten the country’s security ever since.

For Kosovo, contributing troops to the Gaza mission is treated as a demonstration of how far the country has come in the intervening quarter-century.

The ISF has not yet deployed. It operates under President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which Kosovo has joined alongside Indonesia, Albania and Kazakhstan, among other countries that have committed to participate.

Kosovo fields a security force of roughly 4,000 personnel that is being trained into a small, professional military aligned with NATO standards.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)