Tirana hosted today the III Summit of the Diaspora with participation of Albanian nationals coming from all over the world.

Prime Minister Edi Rama appreciated the event as, “The large gathering of Albanians, dedicated especially to the priceless treasure of the Arbëreshi people”.

During the speech he delivered at the III Diaspora summit taking place in Tirana, FM Igli Hasani emphasized that, “Many things in our history would have been very different without the Diaspora”. And he mentioned the role of Arbëreshi people in keeping the language and memory alive, the role of the Diaspora in the overthrow of communism or in the fight for the liberation of Kosovo and the role of all Albanians in exile in the economic survival of our countries during the dark years of transition”.

Hasani said that we all owe an indelible debt to our compatriots who live outside the borders of Albania in the region.

“There is no other better message of unity than this gathering of Albanian nationals from all over the region and the world. This summit comes at a moment when Albanians, more than ever, have reason to feel good about what we have achieved. We have a lot to do together to further develop our countries, to consolidate what we have achieved. What Albania can do alone, Kosovo alone, the brothers in Macedonia and Montenegro, is very little compared to what we can all achieve together”, said Hasani.

On his part, President Bajram Begaj said that he feels special satisfaction that Albanians from all over the world have gathered to discuss the coordination of work for the advancement of cooperation for the benefit of the country.

Begaj appreciated the work done especially in recent years in terms of structuring the relationship of the Albanian state with the Diaspora. “The creation of institutional and legal mechanisms will enable a closer cooperation with concrete results”, he emphasized.

“There are some necessary steps to be taken. The first step is the vote. Albanian nationals abroad should be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote without having to come to Albania. They must vote, according to a model that many other countries apply successfully”, said Begaj.