Blinken chose Albania, Edi Rama: Special value, without reservation, we support normalisation in Kosovo- Serbia

Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has welcomed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will visit Albania next week.

Rama said Blinken will find in Albania an ally country committed to peace, democratic stability and overall co-operation in this region.

In this direction, Rama wrote that Albania supports US and EU efforts to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“Albania has extended the hand of friendship to all neighbours in the region, and without reservation supports the efforts of the European Union and the United States for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as an undisputed strategic key to the security, development and well-being of our community of peoples in the heart of Europe, where the past filled with tragedy, backward conflicts, must permanently leave the country with potential, partnerships of progress<1>.

The Albanian prime minister concluded the welcome to Blinken with the phrase “The Albanian's home is God's and friend”.

Full statement:

A SEKRETAR ARRANGE THE STATES in such troubled times for the world as well as the choice to visit our region by stopping in the Albanian capital, have a special value for Albania. And as we prepare to welcome our dear friend, I want to renew Albania's full commitment to strategic partnership with the United States.

Secretary Blinken in Tirana will find an ally country committed to peace, democratic stability and overall co-operation in this region. Albania has extended the hand of friendship to all of the region's neighbours and unequivocally supports the efforts of the European Union and the United States for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as an undisputed strategic key to the security, development and well-being of our community of peoples in the heart of Europe, where the past filled with tragedy, backward conflicts, must permanently leave the country with potential, partnerships and progress.

It will find a dedicated NATO country, a willing member of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance to continue comprehensive investments in increased defence capacities, in close co-operation with the United States. Albania is continuing to engage new troops and resources, in the context of the collective engagement of all member states for NATO empowering, in defense of the infallibility values that own the existential reason of our democratic community. Our country is at the side of the United States in the fight against terrorism and in countering any example of totalitarianism, and the Secretary of State will find Albania firmly established in supporting Ukraine's struggle for its freedom and survival.

Secretary Blinken will find a Albania grateful for the irreplaceable friendship and the unreserved support of the United States on the path to our radical transformation, namely at this time, a Albania grateful for the United States' precious partnership in the historic reform of the justice system, where the government I have the privilege of leading remains firmly guaranteed of the independence of new justice in the great effort to undo the old culture of impunity. The revival of public confidence in justice, thanks to several meaningful anti-corruption shocks at higher levels, is a significant first achievement of reform in justice on our new path to democratic statehood, where establishing equal rule of law constitutes the fundamental condition of the age-old division with the past a hundred-year change of inequality before the law in this country. To succeed in this extremely challenging path, the unremitting assistance of the United States in increasing our capacities is, of course, one of the inevitable conditions of this crucial phase for the non-resistant consolidation of the rule of law and the recovery of so much lost time, not only in the distant past but also in the nearest, for Albania's membership in the European Union.

The State Secretary will find a Albania at work, with continued economic growth and tangible transparency in the public and private sector, but also with full awareness of the gaps and many shortcomings that need to be addressed through deepening reforms guaranteeing good governance at every level, promote transformations in any sector, empower local communities, promote gender equality, stimulate interest groups, accelerate modernisation, ensure sustainable development. Therefore, Secretary Blinken will also find in Albania our invitation that he and the American side as a whole encourage friendly country companies to invest in strategic sectors of the Albanian economy, and also to encourage their fellow citizens to visit tourism Albania, which has now come up with merit in the main Mediterranean tourism league.

Welcome, Mr. Secretary.

The Albanian home is for God and friend. Your friendship honors us