Berisha said more than 46% of Albanians had left the country over the past decade, attributing the trend to what he called a “drug regime” and the influence of narcotics money on the economy and state institutions.

“This regime has an unprecedented poisonous power in our history, and that poisonous power is drugs,” Berisha said.

He also linked changes in the exchange rate to what he described as the inflow of illicit money, saying the euro had lost 35% of its value and the dollar 32% against the lek over the past decade.

He said the currency depreciation had hurt exports, businesses and remittances, claiming that thousands of companies had subsequently gone bankrupt.

Berisha accused the government of allowing organised crime to influence state institutions and elections, and warned that continued emigration at the current pace could have severe demographic consequences.

“If it is not stopped, in a few decades we will be a minority in our own country,” he said.

Berisha called on the Albanian diaspora in the United States to engage with U.S. institutions and international partners to highlight what he described as links between organised crime and political power.

He praised the U.S. administration’s approach to combating drug cartels and said he would seek U.S. support for strengthening the rule of law and safeguarding free elections.

“I will do everything to present the reality of Albania to our main partner,” Berisha said.

At the end of the meeting, Berisha thanked the Albanian diaspora in the United States for its contribution to Albania and Kosovo and urged it to remain politically engaged with developments in the country.

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