President Milanović in Albanian Parliament: Croatia will continue to strongly support Albania’s path towards the European Union
During his state visit to Albania, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović addressed members of the Albanian Parliament on Wednesday. In his speech, he highlighted the historical ties between the two nations, but also confirmed Croatia’s strong support for Albania’s EU membership bid.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, with whom President Milanović had previously met and held talks, was also present at the parliamentary session.
The full transcript of President Milanović’s speech in the Parliament of the Republic of Albania follows:
“I am exceptionally pleased to be in Tirana today on the occasion of my state visit to the friendly Republic of Albania. On my own behalf, on behalf of the Croatian delegation and the Croatian people, I extend greetings to our esteemed hosts and all members of Parliament. I thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality in your beautiful country, and for the honour to address you directly.
Our two friendly and allied countries share many historical, cultural, geographical and political ties. As two Mediterranean and Adriatic countries, we are part of a wider area that has been one of the centres of European history for centuries.
The friendship of our two peoples goes back a long way, and our close relations were confirmed when my homeland, my country, needed them most. During the Homeland War and the defense against aggression, as well as the struggle for independence, many Albanians joined the Croatian defense forces and thereby made a great contribution to the Republic of Croatia, for which we remain eternally grateful.
It gives me great pleasure to highlight the fact that members of the Albanian national minority are active participants in the political, social and economic life of Croatia, thus making a great contribution to Croatia’s development and to the strengthening of overall Croatia-Albania relations. They are an excellent example of how national minorities can be an important bridge for relations between two countries.
In the context of the dynamic relations between our two countries, I consider it important to mention the community of Arbanas in Zadar – people of Albanian origin, everyone in Croatia knows about them – which has existed since the 18th century.
Of the many prominent individuals who connected Croats and Albanians throughout the long history of our relations, I would particularly like to highlight Andrija Aleši, builder and sculptor of Albanian roots, who spent the most significant part of his working life in Croatia’s Dalmatian region. He was born as Andrea Nikollë Aleksi in 1425 near Durrës, Albania, and died around 1505 in Split. He accentuated and took pride in his Albanian origin, of which many records exist. In collaboration with other Dalmatian artists of that era, the Renaissance, Andrija Aleši created the first Renaissance works on our soil, which are an indispensable part of Croatian, and therefore European, cultural heritage. I am extremely pleased that through joint efforts of Croatia and Albania, we have printed and published a monograph on this important Renaissance artist.
I would also like to draw attention to the Croatian historian and writer Milan Šufflay, who is one of the founders of Albanian studies as a scientific discipline, and has published a number of historical studies on Albanians.
Croatia and Albania again started to strengthen and develop their relations more than 30 years ago, after major historical, democratic changes. Today, our two countries have excellent relations with no outstanding issues, and we are additionally bound by our alliance in NATO, which we joined together as members in 2009.
Over the last three decades, we have established a strategic relationship, which is confirmed by dynamic political dialogue at all political levels. I am glad that this year we had the honour to host President Bajram Begaj and Prime Minister Edi Rama in the Republic of Croatia, and the meetings and visits at other high levels are very intense, as well.
I believe that the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between our two countries, which was signed in 2018, is a very good foundation for the further development of relations in all areas of cooperation.
Our cooperation is taking place in many areas of mutual interest. I would especially like to emphasize our economic cooperation. Although there are no large direct investments, trade is constantly on the rise and in 2022 it increased by almost 60%, with Croatian exports to Albania going up by 41% and Albanian imports to Croatia rising by a significant 127%.
I am also pleased that the number of Albanian tourists is growing year-on-year. During our long-standing economic cooperation, Croatian companies have applied their knowledge, expertise and experience in large, technologically demanding and complex projects such as the reconstruction of the Port of Durrës, the construction of the high-voltage transmission line Podgorica-Tirana and the reconstruction of power plants. These projects, which are lasting proof of our successful economic cooperation, contribute to the economic progress and development of Albania and better living conditions of Albanian citizens.
Albania is an important export market for Croatian pelagic fish, and we also have excellent cooperation in the military industry. I see opportunities for developing our cooperation in numerous sectors, for instance in the energy and agricultural sectors, the food and wood industries, green technologies, the IT sector and tourism. Our two countries demonstrated mutual support and solidarity after the major earthquakes that hit Albania and Croatia in 2019 and 2020, respectively. We are grateful to Albania for all the donations and assistance provided.
Croatia attaches great importance to the stability, security and progress of Southeast Europe and strongly supports the European prospects of this entire region. We sincerely hope that the EU integration process will be significantly accelerated, which is of great importance for the stability of Southeast Europe. It is my pleasure to highlight the fact that Croatia and Albania are among the leading countries that not only support but also actively promote the universal recognition of the Republic of Kosovo, on all possible occasions.
Accelerating the European integration process, in my opinion, very much applies to Albania. We have emphasized on several occasions at bilateral and multilateral forums that we consider it unfair and illogical that Albania became a member of NATO in 2009, and that 14 years later, in 2023, it is only in the early stages of the negotiation process with the European Union.
I congratulate Albania on the extremely great progress made in the last three decades. I sincerely hope that these achievements will be fairly evaluated in the institutions of the European Union.
In this respect, I would like to highlight this year’s Albanian Chairmanship of the Berlin Process, as part of which a summit took place two days ago.
Croatia will continue to strongly support Albania’s path towards the European Union, both with political support and by providing technical assistance, and by transferring its knowledge and experience gained in our own accession process.
In the broader international setting, Albania is recognized as a constructive partner that contributes to peace and stability in the region. That is very important. In this regard, I would like to highlight the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship in 2020 and current membership in the United Nations Security Council, which is taking place in exceptionally difficult circumstances and challenges for the international community.
Croatia is looking forward to the further strengthening of strategic and allied relations with the Republic of Albania, which we consider one of Croatia’s closest friends and a reliable partner with which we have many things in common, including common values.
I believe that my state visit to Albania will give additional impetus to the further strengthening and deepening of our relations and cooperation, and even closer relations between people and our nations.
Dear members of Parliament, I wish you much success in your further work for the benefit of the citizens of the Republic of Albania.
Long live the Croatian-Albanian friendship!”
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan