The Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, Taulant Balla, is paying a working visit to the United Arab Emirates at the invitation of the President of the World Council for Tolerance and Peace. 

Balla held a meeting with Minister of State Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, where he discussed the close cooperation between the two countries. 

"Sheikh Nahyan is the General Commissioner of EXPO Dubai, where Albania will have its own pavilion. Albania and the UAE have today the highest level of their relations, since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992", said Balla. 

During the meeting Balla expressed his gratitude to LT Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, under the special care of His Highness are building 2000 houses for families affected by the earthquake of November 26, 2019. 

For his part, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan also pledged to exert his influence on the establishment of the direct line Abu Dhabi - Tirana, thus reaching three flights a day from the Emirates to Albania. 

The United Arab Emirates and Albania share an important history of cooperation for humanitarian initiatives and we will cooperate with the United Arab Emirates at the local level with the municipalities of Elbasan Region for several social projects. 

During this visit, Balla, in addition to meetings with the authorities of the United Arab Emirates in the capital Abu Dhabi, was also invited to interviews in the studios of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, Emirates News. 

The main topic of discussion was the increase of interest for investments and tourism in Albania from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other friendly countries of this region. 

"Every day more and more is increasing the number of tourists from Arab countries who are visiting Albania through direct flights from Dubai, Sharjah, Riyadh, etc. Albania is the only country in the Mediterranean and Europe completely open to tourists from these countries, without the need for visas. Albania offers an excellent coastline, very good hotels, mountainous areas with stunning landscapes and above all Albanian hospitality", stressed Balla. 

According to Balla, the big project for the Port of Durres by the iconic Dubai company EMAAR is the most meaningful expression of a successful policy of Prime Minister Rama in attracting strategic investments in the elite tourism sector. 

Also during the conversation in Al Hadath and Al Arabiya, the journalists asked Balla about the accommodation in Albania for humanitarian purposes of the PMOI members, where Balla emphasized the fact that Albania develops a policy fully aligned and harmonized with the US and the EU in the Middle East. 

There was also interest in holding in Albania last autumn the International High Level Conference on Anti-Semitism, underlining the fact that Albania was the only country in Europe where Jews were not persecuted during World War II, but instead were taken into protection by the Albanian people themselves.