TIRANA, Aug 26 / ATA/- By Maela Marini/ Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Monday that Albania has become a point of reference in foreign policy, meanwhile next year it will host the European Political Community Summit and the NATO Summit in 2027.
At the opening of the annual Conference of Ambassadors of Albania, Rama said that Albania has not been static in its position and approach to international relations for such a long time.
“The constant dynamic stand and action of Albania led to the fact that was unimaginable until a few years ago, that of Albania taking on very important responsibilities in the international arena, ranging from the Presidency of the Berlin Process which saw some significant results in the light of the new Growth Plan,” Rama said.
The Prime Minister also brought to attention the EU-Western Balkans Summit, which for the first time was held outside the EU space in Tirana.
“Another achievement is also the opening of the College of Europe in Tirana, which is now a tangible reality and the first academic year of the College is about to start, with the selection of students from all European countries already completed. “The demand was higher than expected,” he added.
The Prime Minister also singled out Albania’s role in the United Nations Security Council.
“It is really important to give an example to illustrate how important the proactive role of ambassadors is. The example of our ambassador to the United Nations, who is now serving as ambassador in Brussels, to facilitate all the extraordinary interaction we have with Brussels. Thanks to his leadership, Albania drew a lot of respect and praise, gained a lot of trust and unquestioningly a prestige that it had not had before,” Rama said.
This respect, trust and prestige paved the path for the country to host next year the leaders of 44 European countries, from Great Britain to Ukraine, or from Sweden and Norway to Turkey at the European Political Community summit.
“This respect, trust, prestige and the role of another ambassador that I mention here as an example not to set him apart from others, but to underline how important it is for us to be represented with the highest volume of ambition, but also the ability to be respectful, which gives us the opportunity to host the NATO summit in 2027,” he said.
The prime minister stressed that “it was unthinkable a few years ago that Albania would become a point of reference and be entrusted with such roles.”
“The world’s relations with us have changed so much in this regard that it is becoming naturally difficult to count them all, because they can be unintentionally forgotten. We have also held the chairmanship of the OSCE, where thanks to another ambassador who is today Foreign Minister, and not by chance was asked by a large part of the OSCE countries to run for the role of OSCE Secretary General, we used another opportunity in the best way possible, nurturing the trust and boosting the profile of our country,” Rama said.