TIRANA, September 22 /ATA/-15 citizens have taken the Albanian citizenship oath before the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj. 

During the ceremony held at the Municipality of Tirana, Veliaj said that this is an ideal moment to join the city, which today is at its best and counts about 1 million tourists a month.

“All of a sudden from a small village or town of 10,000 people, Tirana has grown to over 1 million. Within a span of 104 years, the city has grown 104 times. Today suffice it to go out of the city hall and you will see hordes of tourists strolling around the city, about 1 million a month. Imagine what a change and transformation the city has seen each year, growing and becoming more cosmopolitan, welcoming more representative of varied realities and nationalities. Today in Tirana, there are 144 nationalities. Compared to Tirana of ‘91,  today our capital city has grown tremendously with 25 thousand Italians and many other nationalities calling it home, Veliaj said. 

He called on the citizens who took the citizenship oath to contribute to Tirana, which has received different titles and awards thanks to the work of everyone. 

Veliaj said that it takes a shovel to plant a tree, as a modest way to contribute to Tirana’s great energy.

“Today Tirana holds the presidency of B40, which is the network of Balkan municipalities, two years ago it was designated the European Youth Capital, last year it was the European Capital of Sports, next year it will be the European Capital of Culture. If you can contribute to each of the titles mentioned above you are welcome. The European Environment Agency ranked Tirana 10th in all European cities as the city that has planted the most trees recently. Even if you don’t have any special skill, like me, it takes a shovel to plant a tree, when you have the anniversary or when you have the birthdays of children, a modest way to say I also made a contribution to this great energy of Tirana”, said the mayor.