“For the first time, 66 years after joining the UN, Albania sits at the high-level table for peace, security and stability. A responsibility but also a great opportunity for our country to leave a mark in the international arena, ” said Xhaçka.

“Allow me to sincerely wish you and your families a Happy New Year! A 2022 where hopefully life will begin to return to normal after 2 challenging years that have tested us a lot! This first day of the New Year comes for Albanians with a really good news. Today, Albania begins its two-year term on the United Nations Security Council. From today our team of diplomats in New York will have the right to participate in the meetings of the Security Council as a non-permanent member, will have the right to present Albania’s positions on addressing the most pressing security issues in the world. It will have the privilege to influence with the power of our ideas and experience the discussions on the most acute threats for peace and stability today,” she said.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka emphasized that “this term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council is not a gift out of the blue.”

“A term on the Security Council is something that countries have been lobbying and investing in for years and decades and you can be elected if you convince the vast majority of the world that you are a serious country, that you have a professional and credible diplomacy, that you have something valuable to contribute to global discussions. Therefore, today, we should all feel proud of the Albanian diplomacy and of what it has achieved. We should also be proud of the fact that today Albania is seen by the whole world as a serious and mature actor, with a stable and credible policy, as a serious contributor to security and peace issues,” she continued.

“This is an achievement that every Albanian everywhere in the world should be proud of. Starting from our brothers and sisters in Kosovo because undoubtedly Albania will use this opportunity to advance the cause of Kosovo, the process of recognitions and membership in international organizations because Kosovo has been, is and will be a sacred cause for Albania. We will work for the Albanians, but we will also work for our region to consolidate the achievements of the last decades and not to let it slip back into destabilization and tensions. We will work with our allies and partners to jointly advance the agenda of our common priorities, thus consolidating even more the strong ties that unite us, ” said Xhaçka.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, added that many years ago, when the decision was made for the first time to start the lobbying process for a seat on the Security Council, everything seemed like an impossible dream, even crazy. But here we are today and what seemed impossible today has become true.

“I believe that this is the best proof, that when we Albanians decide to work, all together, with patience, with dedication, nothing is impossible for us. Let us approach 2022 and the challenges ahead of us in the same spirit and the same determination and I have no doubt that the future that we will build together for our families and children will be really beautiful, ” Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, concluded her message. /j.p/sm/

In her remarks at the official reception on the occasion of Albania’s election as a non-permanent member on the Security Council held at the Palace of Brigades, Xhaçka pointed out that, “65 years have passed since Albania became a member of the United Nations, and only today, in 2021 we have finally won the right to sit on the highest forum of global decision-making. It’s an achievement on which we have worked for almost a decade.”

“Allow me to be biased in my thanks today, and to express my gratitude to the diplomats and representatives of the Albanian foreign service for this achievement! “Because they are the ones who, more than anyone else, not only worked, but lived with this project that really marks a success like no other for Albania,” she said.

“As you know, on June 11, the UN General Assembly voted with 175 votes to support Albania’s candidacy. I want to thank all the countries that supported us, anywhere in the world. “But I take this chance to thank in particular the representatives of the Eastern European Group at the UN, for the opportunity they gave to Albania to be the candidacy of this group for the Security Council,” said Xhaçka.

On the eve of the General Assembly session we sat down with pencil and paper in hand with our team of diplomats, calculating how many votes we needed, how many votes were for certain, how many countries have signed reciprocal agreements for support with us.

But we had not thought even in the most optimistic versions that Albania would receive such massive support. 175 votes were far more than we needed and far more than we had hoped for.

We all tend to be somewhat dissatisfied with the results of our work, we all tend to expect more, to be critical. But this support was even for the most sceptical and tough man, a clear and indisputable proof of that unprecedented transformation that the image of Albania has undergone in the eyes of the world.

It was proof that we are seen today as a serious country, as a country that contributes to security, peace and stability in the region and beyond. We are seen today as a country that has the maturity and capacities to contribute to discussions on the most pressing issues facing the world today, in the globe’s highest decision-making forum.

Xhaçka stressed that, “that vote in the General Assembly was an exciting moment, a moment of pride fully justified for this historic achievement. But it was also a moment of reflection. Because, in a country where it often seems like we have to build everything from scratch, where it is often difficult to make long-term plans, here is a case where we have worked together, each doing his own job to ‘ “then pass the baton to the successor, in the name of an important cause, and we achieved such an extraordinary result.”

The truth is that Albania’s tenure as a non-permanent member on the Security Council is a victory for all Albanians. It is an extraordinary opportunity for all Albanians to advance our national interests.

“We are going to the Security Council with a clear agenda of priorities. Of course we go to the Security Council with our feet firmly on the ground, cognizant of the modest opportunities that a country the size of Albania has to influence global politics. But, we go there with a great belief in the power of ideas and in the power of the model that Albania represents today, ” she said.
/sm/