TIRANA, September 4/ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama appreciated today that “Open governance should not be taken for granted”, while praising the cooperation within the framework of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative.
The Media and Information Agency published today the video message of PM Rama on the 15th anniversary of foundation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international voluntary initiative that aims to ensure government commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and use new technologies to strengthen governance.
“When OGP was launched, September 2011, Albania chose to be there from day one, alongside its founding members. At the time, we did not join because we had all the answers, but we joined because we knew where we wanted to go. Over these 15 years, this initiative has enabled the country to learn from international experiences, exchange practices and continuously improve the way government serves citizens”, said the prime minister.
According to Rama, one of the greatest values of this partnership is the perspective it offers: reforms are difficult, trust requires work and there is always more to be done.
Meanwhile, MIA informs that the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption is in the final phase of drafting the National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership 2026–2030, which will soon be ready for publication and public consultation.
Full remarks by PM Rama:
“Dear partners, colleagues, friends,
Today, as the Open Government Partnership marks 15 years since its founding, I’m delighted to join this celebration and to offer Albania’s warmest greetings.
When OGP was launched, September 2011, Albania chose to be there from day one, alongside its founding members. At the time, we did not join because we had all the answers, but we joined because we knew where we wanted to go.
After all, Albania knows better than most in our continent and the wider world that openness should never be taken for granted. More than three decades ago, we were the North Korea of Europe. The memory of that past remained a powerful reminder in our history book of what happens when power becomes too concentrated, institutions become too distant, and citizens are left out of the conversation.
This is why the values at the heart of OGP have always struck a special chord with us. The same years that saw OGP grow from eight founding members into a global movement were also years in which Albania strengthened democratic institutions, modernized public administration, expanded digital services, and moved steadily closer to the European Union.
In this journey, OGP has given us many things: ideas, partnerships, best practices, and lessons. But the most important of them is perspective. Perspective that reform is difficult everywhere, perspective that trust is fragile everywhere, perspective that no country has cracked the code, and perhaps most crucially, perspective that work is never finished.
Every government faces pressure to adapt. Every generation sets a higher standard than the one that came before it. This is not a weakness of democratic governance; it is merely its nature. At the heart of its nature lies a beautiful paradox: the more open our societies become, the more they demand.
So to everyone who has spent the last 15 years proving that government works best when citizens have a place at the table, congratulations on this remarkable milestone.”
/p.s./
