Meeting of Prime Minister Edi Rama with the military and civilian team of Albania’s Mission to NATO, as well as with Albanians who work in the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Prime Minister Edi Rama:

Good evening!

I truly want to thank the ambassador, and I do so sincerely, not diplomatically. I could not have imagined such a meaningful and large group, especially considering the size of our country, with girls, boys, women, and men who contribute here at NATO’s headquarters, both for the mission of Albania and for NATO’s international staff, as part of it.

This is undoubtedly a source of pride, a reason for inspiration, and certainly a reason to have confidence in our nation, in our society, and in the capabilities of our country through a generation that today is not only a protagonist in Albania, where it has truly excelled in the highly complex process of opening EU membership negotiations, but also outside of Albania, where many of you here undoubtedly shine as part of NATO’s international staff. You were selected without any connections—I don’t think you’ve found any connections in Finland or the Netherlands; without any political party affiliations, because the only party that unites all these nations, these states, these societies, is the party of the values of democracy, freedom, and security that guarantee these values.

I am especially pleased to see our military personnel in this context. As it would have been said in the past, they would have appeared as outsiders here. However, the truth is that to witness the reality of this group of people who are actively engaged in daily activities, whether in relations with the EU or with NATO, is a privilege. It’s not only about recognizing potential, but also about seeing how that potential is truly being utilized in everyday life. I’m happy that, overall, even though I can’t see every detail of each face or feature, from the first row to the girls in the back, you all look great—you all look like insiders. The energy in the room is very positive.

I am also a witness that in meetings with colleagues and counterparts from the EU and NATO countries, I increasingly hear truly positive remarks about you, about the people who represent us at the second and third levels of the Albanian state, and who deal with the enormous daily workload of these international institutions. I could have taken these remarks as mere pleasantries or compliments given the context of the meetings, but I am fully aware that they come from a continuous, convincing, and impressive improvement in our approach to them, but also in their approach to us. Their approach to us has certainly changed significantly, both due to many factors that are visible from afar and, I am sure, because of all the direct contacts they’ve had with you and with others like you who, in other instances, represent Albania, sit at the discussion tables, and defend the arguments that help us move forward.

Now, of course, my ambition and our collective ambition must be to reclaim what has been taken from us by others. I know this requires even more work and will take some time, because the foreigners have one advantage that we don’t yet have: they can treat you just as well as I am treating you today. However, unlike me, who will wish you a Happy New Year and then leave, when they leave, they pay you much better than we can. So, we are narrowing this gap, but it still exists.

However, all of you who are here and working for foreign entities should not be surprised if, sooner rather than later, we make proposals to reintegrate you into the Albanian state apparatus, with positions and salaries comparable to those of Albanian state representatives. But until that happens, stand firm, hold on to the job you’ve earned through competitions, trials, and tests, which are undoubtedly very rigorous. Be proud that you’ve replaced so many Italians, Germans, Brits, and others around us who are now out of work because you’ve taken their place. Of course, they may have found other jobs in the meantime, but they didn’t get the job they wanted – you took it.

To the mission here at NATO, I say: every time you enter and leave the offices where I have just arrived, don’t forget that you’re not just working at this global security hub, but you’re also working every day in the largest embassy Albania has abroad, in terms of space.

Finally, I wish you all a peaceful and joyful end of the year. But, to be totally honest with you, I don’t envy you this sky without any sunshine.

Thank you all so much, really, thank you for the warm welcome. Of course, one might say it was your duty, but in reality, maybe it was only the mission’s duty here. However, for all of you who came from every corner of the building to be here with us, it wasn’t your obligation, and I am truly grateful that you joined us. I know that, aside from being the Prime Minister, I also have the magnetic presence of Bear Silva. The younger ones may not know him, but some of the generals do. Bear Silva was a very famous figure in Tirana during my childhood, one who was occasionally brought out by his tamer. Back then, we couldn’t take selfies with the Bear, and we didn’t have cell phones to snap pictures. But the effect the Bear had on me is still very clear. So, I know that, due to my height, I have a kind of “Bear Silva effect,” and for that too, I thank you all for coming and seeing the Bear up close.

I wish you all the best that your hearts desire! I wish you good health for your families! Don’t take your health for granted; health is something you truly appreciate only when you don’t have it. But as long as you do, may it stay with you forever, for you and all your loved ones. I also wish you a warm welcome when I send my heartfelt greetings back home. But don’t forget that here, you can’t be late for work. Our homeland has a way of keeping you up late at night and not letting you wake up early in the morning. Meanwhile, here, it’s the opposite. Here, the country puts you to bed early, and when you wake up, you think, ‘Is it still night?’ But in reality, it’s already morning. When I arrived today, they took me to the opening of other chapters. It was completely dark, but in fact, it was already morning.

Thank you all so much, and I’ll wrap up now, even though I could go on longer. As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve promised to finish a few times and then kept going. But it’s not my fault—it’s the responsibility you carry with the faces you have, so clean and full of smiles. So, I can’t leave just yet. Let me now take my leave, as Commander Mark is waiting for us.