TIRANA, January 26 /ATA/ Prime Minister Rama, who is in Jerusalem, Israel, on his participation in the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, met today with the Prime Minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he held a one-on-one meeting, followed by talks between the two delegations. Following these meetings, Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Prime Minister of Israel delivered a joint press statement.
Full remarks by
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
I want to welcome Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania.
Prime Minister Rama is a great friend of the Jewish people, a great friend of the Jewish state, and may I say also a great personal friend. He represents the real spirit of Albania and perhaps people don’t know this and the world should know that Albania was the only European country which during the Holocaust had the Jewish population inside Albania grow and not decline.
It grew because Albanians, Muslim Albanians, in the spirit of moderation, in the spirit of tolerance, in the spirit of human dignity, protected the hundreds of Jews who lived in Albania at the time and also received many others. That’s the spirit that you represent. This is a story.
We were talking about this just a few minutes ago. This is the story that the world should know. This is the stuff, as you said, of inspiring movies. People should know the great role that Albania played, the moral role that Albania played during the darkest hours of human history.
That’s the spirit that you continue today, my good friend Edi. You stand with courage against those who would intimidate you. You stand for the truth. You stood by Israel when we were attacked by these barbarians. Your moral compass did not waver, and this is something that we deeply appreciate and marks you as an outstanding leader for your people and I think for the broad segments of humanity that want the truth to be defended and the moral values that we share.
Equally, and not surprisingly, we are building great ties between Albania and Israel. The number of Israeli tourists who have gone to Albania has increased by 800 percent. Soon it will be 1,000 and soon it will be a lot more. I can tell all Israelis that Albania is a beautiful country with beautiful people, so go there, number one.
Number two, we have Israeli investors and companies who understand that there is a great economic opportunity in Albania. There is a free market orientation and there are things that can be developed jointly with Albanians. That’s going to be enhanced by the opening of the Chamber of Commerce in Jerusalem. I think it’s tomorrow under Prime Minister Rama. This is something that I think will advance our economic ties. And finally, I would say that we have also an understanding beyond interest, but in the deepest sense of human sympathy, that we recognize that there is a foundation of kinship between our two peoples and I want to say that there is a foundation of kinship between the two of us as well.
So welcome, Edi. Thank you prime Minister!
