Albanian Government Council of Ministers

 

Prime Minister Edi Rama attended today the “Migration along the Balkan route” Summit in Vienna, Austria, at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. The summit brought together in a joint discussion on the issue of refugees, the prime ministers of the Balkan countries, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

Prime Minister Rama expressed Albania’s readiness to be part of a joint solution, attitude which the Prime Minister underlined in a statement at the conclusion of the Summit:

“Albania has had a clear position since the outset. We are ready to participate in this effort, if it is common, well-organized, coordinated and fair to all countries. Albania can neither open its borders and act tough, nor behave like some countries that actually betray the values and principles of the European Union when they speak and address the refugee issue.”

The Prime Minister defined the summit as an opportunity to witness the strengthening of Albania’s reputation.

“On the other hand it was a good opportunity to see, also in terms of our relationships with others, how the reputation of our country has strengthened as a country that has the universally acknowledged will on the judicial reform, the fight against crime, against trafficking and corruption. To me, this was a positive remark, and I hope we will get what we deserve after all this hard work we have made, a recommendation to open negotiations with the European Union, which will take us to a new stage during the second term of government.”

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Prime Minister Rama held a bilateral meeting in the chancellor’s office with counterpart Christian Kern, with whom he talked about the government’s reforms, focusing on the judicial reform and the need to move forward with the process of European integration.

The economic cooperation between the two countries was another topic, with regard to which Prime Minister Rama and Chancellor Kern shared willingness to exploit any possibility that enhances commercial exchanges and business opportunities to extend investments.

The meeting focused also on the new situation created in the Balkans, and on regional cooperation which is further strengthened through the Berlin Process.

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