Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama: Honorable Prime Minister, dear Dritan,

First and foremost, I would like to thank on behalf of our entire government delegation, and this not just for the formal diplomatic protocol and etiquette, but because, once again, we have felt firsthand the warmth of the hospitality and the fraternal ties between us.

I would like to reiterate what I already said in my remarks during the meeting that Albania and Montenegro are more than just neighbors and can do a lot more than what the two countries have done to date.

We are meeting at a very challenging moment facing the whole of Europe and our countries, and in this context, in addition to the direct challenges, this warmth and brotherhood in the neighborhood become more valuable and greater.

We have jointly visited Kyiv and the Ukrainian President Zelensky in our capacity as the prime minister of two countries that have sided with Ukraine since day one of the Russian aggression on Ukraine, as two countries absolutely aligned with the European Union, and as two NATO member states and just like our visit to Kyiv, as well as our common efforts in all these fronts really represent the foundations of a relationship with a tremendous potential to further deepen and strengthen.

The truth is that last year, compared to the common hardship and adverse effects of a war which was started not just to tear Ukraine apart, but to possibly bring Europe to its knees by turning energy into weapons and by driving inflation up exponentially, we have also been through some very positive moments in terms of progress towards full-fledged integration in the European Union.

We have seen how the European Union has finally become more open and geopolitically more sensitive about the region. We have seen how Albania and North Macedonia have their EU accession negotiations finally opened.  We have seen how a date was eventually set for visa-free travel for the Republic of Kosovo. We have finally seen how Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted EU candidate status. In the meantime, for the very first time in its history, we have also seen the EU having moved outside its borders to hold a Summit in Tirana or how the Stabilisation and Association Council was held in Montenegro.

All of these are positive developments, but the EU is a common lane, the speed of which, in my view, is inseparably linked to the lane of regional cooperation, and at this point, Albania and Montenegro are fully committed.

I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his personal commitment to this entire process, as well as for expressing readiness to hold an Open Balkans summit in June in Montenegro, while the Berlin Process summit is set to take place in Tirana in early autumn. The date to be determined soon at the meeting I will have with Chancellor Scholz in Berlin.

I insist that the Open Balkans – and we fully agree with the Prime Minister of Montenegro on this issue – is imperative to the efforts to deliver faster on all the principles and requirements under the Berlin Process. It’s as simple as that and of course everyone will be invited to join and participate in this next summit, after other participating countries give their consent.

The two initiatives do not oppose one another, but they are completely complementary initiatives that need each other.

We cannot be satisfied with the leadership of Berlin, in a process that is a Balkan process, but we must put our joint powers to life those principles and those ideas which are the foundation of the Berlin Process and when it comes to implementation, this is our main problem and I am very glad that we have signed a very important agreement in terms of implementing visions and plans, which is the agreement for the construction of the bridge over Buna, which will return the distance between Montenegro and Albania or more precisely Ulcinj and Velipojë in 300 meters, from dozens and dozens of kilometers, an absurdity.

We shouldn’t be complacent about the Berlin’s leadership only in a process devoted to the Balkans, but we should join our common forces to materialize and deliver on those principles and ideas that form the very foundations of the Berlin Process and it is our main problem we face when it comes to materializing and I am very pleased that we have signed a very important agreement in terms of delivering the visions and plans, namely the project on construction of the bridge over Buna River, which will shorten the distance between Montenegro and Albania, or more precisely between Ulcinj and Velipoja, to 300 meters only from the current absurd distance of dozens and dozens of kilometers.

This is not a simple accord, but a deal based on the blueprint developed by the Albanian Development Fund (ADF). The design was supported through our funding, but we will jointly build the bridge through joint funds and, as I already told Dritan too, you have higher wages and it wouldn’t be appropriate for the bridge to be constructed by Albania only.

In the meantime, work is underway for the consortium between Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia on the Adriatic-Ionian pipeline project, which will be accelerated and the project can definitely accelerated through interaction, because it is a project running through the borders and the territory of several countries. We face problems even when it comes to building such projects within the territory of our own countries and just imagine how challenging it is to develop a project in our internal and external borders.

Third, it is equally important that we agree to further strengthen cooperation in terms of absorption of funds for cross-border projects and we have agreed to directly engage people, as well as to coordinate work on the railway and the Corridor Blue projects. Albania has advanced efforts to deliver on both projects, but it is imperative that Montenegro also pushes these projects forward on its side, because otherwise, funding these projects becomes tougher, since investors would rightly ask: “Well, you will take the railway to the border, but will it happen then?” Would then passengers get off the train and take the boat to take their goods further”?

The last but not least is that this extraordinary potential is based on a meaningful history between Albanians and Montenegrins, between Albania and Montenegro, between the two sides of the border, where – as I have already once stated at a press conference here in Montenegro earlier if I am not mistaken – the interconnection through the lake until 1945. The extensive collection of the Marubi dynasty contains so many photographs featuring vessels and boats transporting people and goods to both shores of the lake and my grandmother, who was born and grew up in Shkodra, used to tell us that one could travel to Montenegro by sailing across the lake.

We have still to establish this sailing route and that’s why we have decided to clear the way by sailing on board of the yacht of the Prime Minister of Montenegro and should this yacht carries us both it would definitely be decent enough to cross the lake shores and announce the new sailing route, only after having delivered on a number of home works to deepen certain parts of the river and put an end to the procedures that stipulate for the Prime Minister of Montenegro, who owns this small boat, to apply for a permit in Tivar and wait for 24 hours for the permit to be approved and then enter the territory of Albania or otherwise he would have to enter the country clandestinely through the support of lawmakers from Shkodra constituency so that he evades arrest from the police.

However, I would actually like to thank Dritan for the fact that he and the Montenegrin Interior Minister have promptly reacted by calling professor Milo and apologizing for the incident at the border as soon as the heinous video footage was aired. All the measures against the involved individuals have been taken and this has been done with maximum gentility and wisdom.

These are incidents that one cannot avoid and they may happen elsewhere too, but such incidents also serve as a source of inspiration for all patriots and would-be heroes in our region.

These are the episodes these so-called patriots look forward to kindle the flames of nationalism and issue calls for the diplomatic ties to be cut with the next neighboring country and this is the reason why we need to further boost regional cooperation, to strengthen border cooperation.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazović: Good afternoon everyone! I have the honor and pleasure of welcoming the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama, and all members of his cabinet, as our guests in Podgorica to attend the joint session of the governments of Montenegro and Albania today.

From Podgorica we conveyed today the beautiful message of cooperation, the message of commitment to the economic development-based future of our countries and the message of what is set to become the most powerful cooperation in all segments when we talk about the two governments.

I am proud that we have signed the agreement for the construction of the big infrastructural project, namely the bridge over the Buna River, which will not only connect the two countries, but it will also become a new tourist attraction and product for both Montenegro and Albania.

It is our goal that people are provided easier access and that traffic congestion is reduced during the summer months in particular, but also to push forward the development prospect for this whole area. We also talked about plans to make the Buna River navigable. Prime Minister Rama has already taken several steps to provide for the unhindered sailing across the Buna River and the sailing route between Montenegro and Albania reopens 70 or 80 years later after the old one ceased working after World War II.

So we wish to deliver on everything in other segments and fields, including health, defense, cooperation in law enforcement, agriculture and fisheries.

We would like to simply underline that Montenegro and Albania see great prospects in their bilateral ties and mutual cooperation that should result in better living conditions for the citizens in both countries.

We are committed to pressing ahead with the European integration process. We see our common future in the European Union and we wish to contribute so that such a message is sent from here.

In a nutshell, I think that the relations between the governments of Montenegro and the Republic of Albania are a role model for the Western Balkans.

I think that other countries in the region should follow this example and the government of Montenegro will be committed to hosting joint meetings with other neighboring countries. Why? Because this is the best way for people to get to know each other, sign important deals and understand how similar our problems are as we face almost the same situations and understand that we can all prosper together.

We want to build a different future, a prosperous, business-focused future, and we want the abundant negative topics in the Western Balkans to become a thing of the past.

I would once again like to thank all the members of the governments of both countries, thank friend Edi Rama for understanding and I believe that Albania and Montenegro today can proudly state that the Montenegrin-Albanian relations were taken to a new higher level today. The concrete agreements we signed today will contribute to this. The citizens expect us to work and deliver more on infrastructure and progress, while leaving the negative things behind us and simply looking towards the future.

Thank you!