TIRANA, July 28/ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama addressed the conference on “100 years of diplomatic relations Albania – USA”, with participation of President of the Republic Bajram Begaj, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka, Ambassador of the USA in Tirana, Yuri Kim and others.
PM Rama reminded Albanian great man Fan Noli who on July 4, 1918 received from President Wilson the promise that he would defend Albania at the Peace Conference.
Prime Minister Rama emphasized that, “This is also the moment when the very special relationship between Albania and the USA came to life.”
“Today, continued Rama, we are here to mark July 28, 1922, when in Tirana arrived the official document notifying the Albanian government that the USA recognizes the Albanian government and Maxwell Blake was appointed the first ambassador to Albania.”
PM Rama said that, “In a way, Enver Hoxha is the man who has worked more than all for this day because all that the communist regime did to drive the Albanians away from the United States of America was rendered into the other extreme. This is good for Albania at this stage of its history because Albania is a small country; it is a country that is in great need of development and strengthening; it is a country that finds it necessary to have a great ally like the United States of America”.
PM Rama added that there are countless reasons why, also based on the history of the last 30 years, that this is an irreplaceable strategic relationship and carries the reasons why we must endure with a smile, even with satisfaction, the protagonism of the American ambassadors in Albania.
“It’s very simple. The United States feels itself home in Albania because the Albanians have decided it this way. Without the United States of America, Albania might not exist; it would not be a member of NATO or a member of the Security Council”, Rama emphasized.
But, more than that, said Rama, without the United States of America, present-day Albania would not be able to face the evil and the past, which continues to be part of our daily effort, which continues to reappear before us in various forms, from resistance to change and resistance to creating the conditions for fair justice for all in this country to the shadows of the darker communist past that unexpectedly still appear before us.
“Finally, I want to say that it is truly an honor and a privilege that we have managed to sign a strategic partnership agreement with the United States of America and that recently, a few days ago, we received from Washington the proposal to deepen the strategic partnership document. It is something extremely significant that speaks of a strategic and essential engagement for the United States of America with Albania, but not only with Albania, but through Albania even with the region”, concluded Rama./k.s/j.p/p.s./
