Albania and German State of Hessen intensify contacts and cooperation. Minister President of the German state of Hessen, Volker Bouffier and a group of MPs are paying a visit to Albania at the invitation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. This visit follows the visit that Prime Minister Rama has paid to the state of Hessen, where areas of common interest were discussed.
Minister President Bouffier and his delegation were welcomed by Prime Minister Rama. Their talks focused on taking forward the agenda of cooperation with an aim at increasing trade exchanges, German investments in Albania, and at developing vocational education. The state of Hessen is one of the largest and rich economies of Germany, as well as its financial centre. Albania can have large and multilateral benefits from the intensification of this cooperation.
“I’m very thankful and very honoured to have this visit, and as always Germans keep promises. I was promised in Hessen that we would have the possibility to pay back in hospitality, and it is happening. And what’s even more important is that with the state of Hessen and the President Minister we are building a very fruitful dialogue on how we can cooperate, on how we can find the good ways to help the young people, to see their chances here, meaning to encourage them to stay and not leave.
We also had a very good dialogue in terms of our European integration path. Germany is a major partner, a strategic partner for us and we are in a better place regionally and also as Albania thanks to the German government, to the chancellor, but also to some president ministers of German states who have been very much helpful in this process.
Last but not least, we talked also on the political process and on how beyond party lines, beyond party family’ lines we can build together common sense on going beyond the obstacles, and now it’s time in Albania to implement justice reform which is a very major reform, and we have already made the constitutional changes with big support from the EU and Germany, and we are now in the implementation phase.
So, I’m very, very thankful and grateful and I’m also sure that with the support of the President Minister as of others, we will move forward with more conviction, and with even more results”, Prime Minister Rama stated after the meeting with President Minister Bouffier. The Prime Minister was asked some questions from the German media on why it is important for Albania to become an EU member. “There is no alternative. It is the only way to modernize, and the integration process is not for us a path to go somewhere, but to build here a credible state with functioning institutions, with a functioning justice system, and so on and so further. So, the European Union for us in Albania, and in the region is a fantastic alternative. There is nothing else beyond that. I know that to some people in Europe we may look naïve, but I think they are naïve, and I think that whoever today questions the European Union forgets that this is the first generation in the history of Europe that hasn’t had a war, and I think this is also thanks to the EU”, the Prime Minister said.
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“We had an intensive conversation, and it was much longer than anticipated. We made clear our interest for the development of Albania’s path towards the European Union. This applies not only to Germany as a whole, but particularly to Hessen. I had the opportunity to introduce the two projects to be financed by the state of Hessen, such as vocational training for those who study but also for artisans. We talked about the situation in the country. I reported him that I had previously met with the head of the opposition who was very critical of the current situation. He also was very clear about his point of view. Some issued have been referred as problematic, and now it is about finding out who is responsible for this. He noted that actually the country was totally isolated until 1990, and almost nobody had experience in a democratic process.
Of course, the main task here is to promote issues such as legal security, accountability, anti-corruption, in order to invest here so that people find an employment here. But here investments can be done provided that there is credibility, and we fully agreed on this. The criticism he addressed with regard to the internal process is that if the opposition continues to refuse to go to parliament, the country cannot move forward. The opposition expressed its concern about an unfair process, but I told them I was hopeful that further steps will be made. There will be a constant presence of international observers both in the election process and afterwards.
We agreed on the fact that this country has great potentials. For instance, the coast can be used for tourism, and it is a great project. But big and everlasting projects and occur provided that there is legal security. Therefore, this is about the stabilisation of the country. They’ve placed very high hopes in Germany. We talked intensively also about party families such as the Christian Democrats party and the Social Democrats, and about the special role of the Federal Chancellor. Overall, this is a country in a transition process. But I want to highlight our great interest in its development. Because we want to support it, and because we have our own personal interests. It cannot be right for young people to leave the country, to come in and apply for asylum, which is not justified, because they hope that in this way they will find a better life. It cannot be fair that young people leave the country, come to Germany and apply for asylum, which is not justified, because they hope that in this way they will find a better life. We want to engage here. We believe that there’s a great potential here. There are well-educated young people here, and we take this into account (this applies for both parties), and they must go forward on the path toward the EU despite the difficulties.
This is my first time in Albania, and so it is for the whole delegation. I think I can speak on behalf of my colleagues. We don’t look only at the difficulties, but also at what has happened in these 27 years, almost a passage from the Stone Era to a globalized world. There has been progress, but there are so many challenges, and we want to provide our support as a fair partner. We’re not here to teach them, for they know very well everything, but as Edi knows from his visit when he came and met with me, we can give a frank opinion. We are both basketball players and athletes, and therefore we understand each other, and I hope very much that the sporting spirit, which should always be a team spirit, will develop further also here. This will not happen overnight, but we want to establish trust for both sides, for those who are in power today, and who may be in opposition tomorrow, and for today’s opposition which can be in power tomorrow, we want to maintain a good relationship on both sides, and therefore we hope for a successful work for the government, but above all for the country”, President Minister Bouffier said.
If you were to summarize your impressions about Serbia and Albania, which is the most important knowledge you have gained?
President Minister Bouffier: Although these two countries are close to each other, they are very different. Albania hasn’t had a civil war like Serbia has, but both countries are undergoing a transformation process. They will enter a new era, and they cannot make it by themselves. They need our support. Their development is not only to their benefit, but also to ours. If they don’t develop, people will not remain here but will go where they think they can have a better future. I’ve said this also in Serbia. The prime minister showed me the phone and said: young people are interested in what is happening in Berlin, in London. They look at Lady Gaga and Facebook, and they think that this is the future. If we don’t give them a future, they will not remain here. Therefore, what we do here is very important for us. I don’t see any chance if these countries detach. Serbia has just one problem, Moscow. This doesn’t apply to Albania, while Turkey is right behind the door.
A development which stems perhaps in radicalism and Islamism cannot be our goal. For this reason, in my view, the European perspective is the right one even if it is long and difficult. We can discuss at home on Europe, on bureaucracy in Brussels. Anyone here who can see, knows that Europe is something quite different. We enjoy all the advantages, we do not realize how well we are. It is very clear to them that their future is Europe. And the government cannot be happy because today the opposition has raised a tent and is protesting, but such thing couldn’t happen before. Everybody would have been arrested, and there would have been no dialogue. For this reason, many things have changed, and I think the most important message is that we won’t leave these countries alone without support, but it is in our and their interest to build together, even though this may be difficult.