TIRANA, Jan 19 /ATA/ – Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, met on Tuesday with the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Augustos Santos Silva.
According to official sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting focused on priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council regarding the enlargement dossier.
Minister Xhaçka informed him about the reforms launched in Albania to fulfill the requirements of the Council in March 2020.
Portugal, which holds the Presidency of the EU Council from 1 January to 30 June 2021 is committed, under the motto for action, to advance the work for the approval of the negotiating framework for Albania and holding the first Intergovernmental Conference within June 2021.
The Head of Portuguese Diplomacy underlined that the reforms undertaken so far by Albania are on the right track and that Portugal’s interest is to maintain the credibility of EU in the region through execution of the decisions taken.
Minister Xhaçka thanked counterpart Silva for the support of Portugal towards Albania along the pathway to the EU, and for the clear prioritization of the remaining work by the EU on the enlargement dossier.
Both interlocutors touched on the impact of pandemic on the respective countries and committed themselves to stay in touch to find imperative solutions to mitigate its consequences, including cooperation on vaccines.
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