Foreign Affairs minister Luminita Odobescu on an official visit to Tirana on Tuesday, stressed the importance of multiplying bilateral political contacts at all levels, but also of maintaining the ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity of the Aromanian minority in Albania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs in a press release.

The visit of the head of Romanian diplomacy to Albania represents the first part of a tour in the Western Balkans, which also includes the Republic of North Macedonia and Montenegro.

In Tirana, amid the celebration, in 2023, of 110 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Albania, the Romanian minister had political consultations with the minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the government of the Republic of Albania, Igli Hasani. The two interlocutors underlined the importance of multiplying political contacts at all levels and diversifying economic exchanges and sectoral cooperation, including in the fields of justice, defence, cybersecurity, energy and education. The field of education and youth promotion are, in fact, priorities of the projects carried out by Romania in Albania, through Official Development Assistance, MAE specifies.

The Romanian side expressed the expectation that the launch of direct flights between Bucharest and Tirana in October 2023 will lead to significant growth and diversification of bilateral trade and people-to-people contacts. Also, the head of the Romanian diplomacy evoked the importance Romania attaches to maintaining the ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity of the Aromanian national minority in Albania. Odobescu also expressed confidence that the process of restitution to the Romanian state of the Iorga House in Saranda should be completed as soon as possible.

At European level, the Romanian chief of diplomacy appreciated Albania's "full alignment" with the Common European Security Policy, as a reflection of this country's clear strategic orientation, an approach that Romania encourages in dialogue with all partners in the region, and welcomed the majority support among the Albanian population for EU accession, as well as the commitment of the entire political class in Albania. The Romanian minister underlined the need for the efforts dedicated to European reforms to continue at a sustained pace, with a transformative role and modernization of the entire society.

Romania's chief diplomat appreciated Albania's active role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2022-2023 mandate, especially Tirana's essential role in promoting Security Council resolutions condemning the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine.

On the sidelines of consultations with Igli Hasani, the Action Plan 2024-2025 on cooperation between the ministries of Foreign Affairs of Romania and the Republic of Albania was signed.

Minister Odobescu also met with the Albanian chief negotiator for accession to the European Union, Majlinda Dhuka, on which occasion the practical ways of continuing and strengthening Romania's support for Albania's advancement in its European path were discussed. In the context of the publication by the European Commission of the enlargement package, on November 8, 2023, minister Luminita Odobescu conveyed her support for the objective of effectively opening accession negotiations with Albania. Odobescu also stressed the need to continue reforms, including in the field of rule of law and fight against corruption. In this respect, she confirmed her readiness for Romania to continue providing expertise in the process of Albania's accession to the EU.AGERPRES(RO - editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - editor: Maria Voican)