Albania, 2009

I have the special

pleasure today to extend to Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki,

President of the General Assembly, my congratulations

on his excellent work in presiding over the sixty-fourth

session of this Assembly. I would also like to thank his

predecessor, Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for his

work in successfully leading the Assembly at its sixty-

third session.

I avail myself of this opportunity to extend my

greetings to all those present in this Hall today. I also

express my deep gratitude to Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon for his high competence and professionalism

in leading the United Nations, and acknowledge his

important personal contribution to the success of this

session.

We are gathered here today after a year in which

the world has faced one of the worst financial and

economic crises in history. We are gathered here once

again at a time when hundreds of millions of people

are being oppressed by tyrannical regimes or are facing

extreme poverty, disease and major health or social

calamities. We are gathered here at a time when brutal

conflicts continue to take the lives of innocent people

in various regions of our world, and when nuclear

crises in Iran and North Korea represent a genuine

threat to world peace.

Albania and the Albanian people continue to

engage in international cooperation and are determined

to offer their modest contribution to advancing peace,

freedom and security and respect for human rights,

fighting poverty, promoting sustainable development

and prosperity and, last but not least, protecting the

environment.

(spoke in French)

As a European country, Albania remains fully

committed and determined to carry out every reform

and to take every decision and every other measure

required of it on the road to membership of the

European Union (EU). More than 94 per cent of

Albanians support Albania’s application process for

joining the EU. This is not only highly encouraging,

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but also a major obligation for my Government to

proceed swiftly along this path. This autumn, we

expect a positive response from the Council of

Ministers of the European Union to our application for

candidate status, while we also hope to obtain visa

liberalization as soon as possible.

Albania is a new but functioning democracy.

About two months ago, we held general parliamentary

elections. The international watchdog Office for

Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reported

that the elections met the principal standards of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

and deserve a generally positive assessment. The newly

elected Government has proclaimed the following core

pillars of its programmes: building new and modern

infrastructure throughout the country; bringing Albania

into the digital age; reforming the health-care and

education systems; fighting poverty, and creating new

jobs for Albanian citizens.

Next year here at the United Nations, we will

assess the progress we have made towards fulfilling the

Millennium Goals. Albania has put intense effort into

achieving significant progress in this area. Over the

past three years, some 400,000 Albanians have moved

up from below the poverty line, while extreme poverty

has been reduced by 70 per cent; tens of thousands of

new jobs have been created; the number of university

students has doubled and infant mortality has been

drastically reduced.

(spoke in English)

The years 2008 and 2009 have seen the worst

financial and economic crisis the world has known

since the Great Depression. The Albanian economy has

felt the consequences of the crisis. Its exports fell by

10 per cent and the levels of financial credit were

drastically reduced. Despite these consequences,

however, Albanian gross domestic product (GDP) grew

by more than 5 per cent in the first six months of 2009,

our revenues saw an 8 per cent increase compared with

those of last year, and foreign direct investment was

59 per cent higher than last year.

I believe that the main factors protecting the

Albanian economy in this crisis were, first, the very

fact that Albania has the lowest fiscal burden in Europe

and that its economy is largely based on liberal

standards; secondly, the fact that my Government has

invested 10 per cent of the country’s GDP in

infrastructure projects in 2009, or, taking into account

investment for 2008, 20 per cent of GDP over the past

two years; thirdly, our thorough reforms aimed at

achieving smaller Government, as a result of which

Albania now has one of the smallest public

administrations per capita in Europe and, indeed, in the

entire world; and, last but not least, the very favourable

climate for business and investment created by my

Government over the past four years. I take this

opportunity to invite investors from all countries to

consider my country for their projects, which will

definitely turn out to be success stories for them, and

for Albania.

Albania has maintained excellent cooperation

with the United Nations and its agencies. Albania is

one of the pilot countries of the Delivering as One

initiative, and through its experience and positive

results is making a real contribution to this United

Nations reform. Delivering as One provides for

excellent savings of time and money, as well as much

more efficient coordination of the work of United

Nations agencies in their cooperation with Member

States. This project has had an excellent track record in

my country due to the coherence and better

coordination of the activities of United Nations bodies

with those of our national authorities, particularly with

regard to aligning international projects with the

country’s priorities.

We have been pleased to see that our reform

priorities and national strategy on European integration

are in full harmony with the Millennium Development

Goals and those of the Delivering as One initiative.

The outcome has demonstrated that this project, the

philosophy of which depends on the concept of

national ownership, has produced more efficient

implementation of United Nations development

programmes.

Albania is a multireligious society with religious

harmony par excellence. In the framework of the

Alliance of Civilizations and in accordance with our

national strategy on intercultural dialogue, we offer our

example of religious harmony and coexistence, one of

the most invaluable spiritual heritages of our nation, as

a contribution to the aims of this United Nations

initiative.

This general debate was preceded by the Summit

on Climate Change. It gives me great pleasure to

inform the Assembly that more than 90 per cent of the

electricity my country consumes comes from

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renewable hydroelectric power. Although we are open

to other energy sources, including nuclear, we are

working hard and have so far secured about €5 billion

in new investment for new hydroelectric, wind and

biomass energy plants. Albania intends to become a

small super-Power of green energy in the region.

The last decade of brutal conflict in the Balkans

seems to have been consigned to the annals of history.

The countries of that region are now engaged in a

process of cooperation in all fields and in European

and Euro-Atlantic integration. This year, Albania and

Croatia became full members of NATO. Other

countries of the region have made significant progress

towards EU and NATO membership.

I must stress at this point that, although only a

short time has passed since Kosovo’s declaration of

independence, the establishment of the independent

state of Kosovo has become an important factor for

peace and stability in South-East Europe. In that

country, which declared independence 20 months ago,

inter-ethnic relations have improved and inter-ethnic

tensions have been significantly reduced. Serbs are no

longer leaving Kosovo. The opposite is happening —

many Serbian families are coming back to Kosovo to

build their future in their country. My Government is

determined to help and assist the Government of

Kosovo in its projects to facilitate the return of the

displaced people of that country.

The European Union has deployed its Rule of

Law Mission, which is doing an excellent job and

providing extremely valuable help to the Government

of Kosovo and its authorities in consolidating the rule

of law and functional democracy in Kosovo, as well as

in developing the highest European standards for the

coexistence of the various ethnic communities. The

International Security Force in Kosovo has also played

a very positive role, and the very fact that its strength

has been reduced is clear evidence of the stability in

that country.

Meanwhile, 63 States Members of the United

Nations have recognized independent Kosovo, and the

Republic of Kosovo has become a member of the

International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Nevertheless, Kosovo has not yet assumed the place

that it deserves in the family of sovereign countries of

this prestigious Organization.

On this occasion, I would like to point out that all

the countries that recognize the Republic of Kosovo

and the international institutions that have accepted it

in their forums as an independent member State have

done so because, above all else, they are convinced that

the independence of Kosovo and its international

recognition make a major contribution to peace and

stability in South-East Europe. That is why I take this

opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all

Governments and States Members of the United

Nations that are considering a review and assessment

of the existing reality in South-East Europe and the

possibility of recognizing the independence of Kosovo.

In my judgment, that would be a great contribution to

peace, stability, security and cooperation in our region.

Fourteen years ago, after condemning the

coercive oppression, violence and barbarism of the

Milosevic regime against Albanians in Kosovo, 137

States Members of the United Nations voted in

resolution 49/204 of 23 December 1994 to recognize

and respect the will of the inhabitants of Kosovo.

Today, that will has become the reality of an

independent Kosovo and has been recognized by 63

countries that took that historic vote. I hope and firmly

believe that the rest of the countries that voted for that

historic resolution will reaffirm the will that they

expressed 14 years ago — this time through their

recognition of Europe’s newest State, the Republic of

Kosovo.

With its foreign policy of peace and good

relations with all countries, its modest but important

contribution to international missions of peace and

human rights protection through its policy of good

neighbourliness, and a moderate and constructive role

in the region, Albania has become a producer of and a

direct contributor to stability and security in the region

and at the global level.

Today, Albania participates in peacekeeping

missions in several international operations in the

framework of the United Nations and other regional

security organizations, such as in Afghanistan, Bosnia,

Iraq, Chad and other countries. Only about two months

ago, Albania doubled its number of troops in the

International Security Assistance Force mission. My

country acknowledges and supports every effort for

global peace and security, and will continue to support

all efforts of the United Nations, NATO and other

actors that promote peace, stability and security in the

world and that keep in check those two countries that

threaten it — Iran and North Korea — with their very

dangerous nuclear programmes.

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All States Members of the United Nations share

the responsibility for the efficient functioning of this

Organization. No one can ignore the track record of the

United Nations activities in many fields. Whenever

there is a crisis, poverty, famine, disease or disaster,

the United Nations is there to provide relief and

support.

However, it has long been evident that the world,

countries and the complexity of international relations

develop much faster than the United Nations is able to

adjust and adapt itself to the new realities. That is why

Albania strongly supports the continuation of the

reform process of this Organization and the further

improvement of the United Nations system. A more

efficient decision-making mechanism is pivotal in that

respect. We support the efforts to reform the Security

Council. We believe that in order to meet the

challenges of the twenty-first century, we need a

Security Council that is efficient, transparent and

legitimate in its decision-making process and in which

regions and individual Member States are adequately

represented.