In a crowded hall of a large hotel in a central part of Tirana, the Embassy of Greece in Albania hosted a reception on Thursday evening, on the occasion of the National Day of March 25.

The event was graced by the presence of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, the US Ambassador, the Ambassadors in charge of the EU Delegation and of the OSCE, Ambassadors of other countries, Ministers and parliamentarians, the head of the World Headquarters of the Bektashis, representatives of the Catholic Church and the Muslim Community, Greek expatriates, Greek and Albanian businessmen, as well as a crowd of people who suffocated the hall.

In her speech, the Ambassador of Greece Ms. Konstantina Kamitsi welcomed the guests, and referred to the importance of the National Anniversary, the European perspective of Albania, the positive course of bilateral relations, as well as the ties that unite the two peoples. Below is the speech of the Greek Ambassador:

I would like to thank you for joining us today, as we are celebrating, after the pandemic, our National Day marking 202 years of the Greek revolution.

In our contemporary world, the Greek Revolution of 1821 remains an eternal symbol of a nation’s struggle for independence, freedom, and statehood.

Greece – a longstanding member of the EU, NATO, and other Euroatlantic institutions –is particularly interested in strengthening security, stability, and economic growth in South East Europe. We believe that this is truly feasible only through regional dialogue and cooperation.

At the same time, Albania, within only 30 years’ time of modern statehood, has made remarkable progress by becoming a modern developing country, a strong supporter of EU values, a NATO member state, already a candidate for accession to the EU, and a Non -Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

Greece has long been a staunch supporter of Albania’s EU perspective. The first Intergovernmental Conference that took place last July marked a significant step towards Albania’s European integration. The fact that Albania hosted successfully, here in Tirana, the first ever out of Brussels, EU-Western Balkans Summit last December, bears special importance.

Greece appreciates Albania’s alignment with the EU positions and is encouraging Albania to maintain its European course and the pace of reforms. This can only benefit the country and strengthen Albania’s international standing. Since the EU Summit in Thessaloniki back in 2003, we have demonstrated our support for the Albanian journey toward EU accession. We shall decisively continue to do so!

Given the prolonged war in Ukraine and the subsequent severe geopolitical risks for our neighborhood, full integration the sooner possible of the Western Balkans into the EU is vital not only for the partners of the region but also for the security, stability, and prosperity in the whole of Europe.   

Allow me, now, to say a few words about our bilateral relations.

Not only neighboring but also Strategic partners and allies, Greece and Albania share a common political will to further promote bilateral relations, expand cooperation and settle all the pending issues.

Indicative of this spirit is the fact that only in the last four months, we have witnessed, two visits of Prime Minister of Greece to Albania and one visit of the Albanian Prime Minister to Greece.

The native national Greek minority as well as the numerous Albanian community in Greece constitute a significant bridge of cooperation between our two countries.

Let us not forget that for several years now, numerous Greek companies have been operating in Albania, employing thousands of people.

Greece continues to be included in the top ten foreign investors in Albania, as well as one of the main trade partners, despite the difficulties of the previous decade.

Government officials and business leaders from Greece and Albania are now discussing ways to further strengthen economic cooperation and identify new areas of collaboration such as energy, tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure development.

Let me give you a recent and prominent example of our bilateral cooperation in the field of environment and sustainable development: It is our mutual determination and full commitment to protecting Vjosa/Aoos, Europe’s last free-flowing river. On this occasion, Greece very much welcomes Albanian government’s recent initiative to declare Vjosa/Aoos as a National Park.

The sense of common destiny and friendly relations is also proved by our mutual display of solidarity during hard times, such as the catastrophic earthquake in Albania 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and lately the tragic train accident. As we all know, Albania was the only country, apart from Cyprus, which shared our grief by declaring a national Day of Mourning.

Let me reiterate my country’s and my personal deep gratitude for this expression of solidarity. In this sense, our values and codes of ethics are reflected in a saying in both Greek and Albanian: Miku i mire njihet ne kohe te veshtira - “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.

Let me finish my speech by quoting a great politician, intellectual and visionary, the father of the Albanian statehood, Ismail Qemali, who  wrote,  in his Greek-Albanian newspaper “Salvation of Albania”, that Greeks and Albanians, “share the same mental prerogative and ability of getting along with all nations and get accustomed to all places and all climatic conditions”.

Expressing my respect and friendship to the Albanian people, I would like to thank you all for your presence here today.