At a joint press conference after the meeting, Xhaçka said that it was a great pleasure to host in Tirana the Portuguese Foreign Minister Cravinho on his first visit to Albania, which also coincides with the first visit to our country of a Foreign Minister after the opening of the EU accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, as well as the holding of the First Intergovernmental Conference with the EU, on July 19, 2022.

“This date will go down in the history of our relations with the European Union, where our country was unreservedly supported by Portugal. Our path towards opening this new chapter has not been easy at all. In recent years we have struggled with refusals to officially start EU accession talks, then we had to cope with shocks such as earthquakes with devastating consequences, the pandemic which had dramatic repercussions in the world over and last but not least, the war in Ukraine which shook the foundations of European peace and security. Despite all these challenges, we never gave up on our goal to arrive at the first intergovernmental conference, because our only alternative has been and remains the European Union. The holding of the First Intergovernmental Conference means that the EU and its member countries, including Portugal, have endorsed the work and achievements of the Albanian government in the political field, and in others areas such as: justice reform, the fight against corruption and crime organized, the protection of human rights and European values, as the orientation of our foreign policy based on these principles”, she said.

Xhaçka went on saying that during the meeting he had the opportunity to share opinions on the progress of bilateral relations between our two countries, which he described as close, supportive and friendly.

“We discussed the ways of intensifying the political dialogue, through the exchange of high-level visits, the increase of inter-parliamentary cooperation, the intensification of economic cooperation, pinpointing concrete areas of mutual interest and I was pleased to find that we are on the same page. I thanked Minister Cravinho for the valuable support that the Portuguese government and people have provided to Albania in the aftermath of November 26 earthquake. On the other hand, I expressed my condolences for the death of many Portuguese citizens due to the heat wave which has engulfed our continent. This situation prompts the urgent need to increase efforts and take concrete actions to address the challenges posed by climate change and climate-related risks in the context of international peace and security,” she said.

Likewise, Xhaçka added that developments in the Western Balkans were another important topic under discussion.
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