In his opening remarks, Rama reflected on the long road toward EU membership for Albania and the region, referencing the years of waiting as a period marked by uncertainty but sustained hope.

“For a long time, the story of the EU and the Western Balkans was written in the drama of waiting,” Rama said. “The wait for the EU became almost synonymous with waiting for Godot. Yet we never stopped dreaming of the day when the story would change – and we never stopped preparing for that moment.”

He underlined that when accession negotiations officially began with the EU, Albania was ready.

“The process could not have been more intense or more liberating from the ghosts of the past,” Rama said.

The government head emphasized that the region is now becoming more integrated not only politically but also economically and socially – with increasing flows of European tourists and investments shaping a new reality.

“The Western Balkans is not Europe’s second-tier neighborhood,” Rama stressed. “It is a new frontier – not one of walls and borders, but a horizon of energy and imagination.”

He described the region as a space where Europe can rediscover its agility, appetite, creative drive, and above all, “its love for life, peace, and unity.”

Rama reiterated his government’s readiness to make this investment forum an annual event with an increasingly ambitious agenda, positioning Albania and the wider region as proactive contributors to the European project.

/r.e//a.f/u.sh/