President visits Tirana to discuss opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the two countries

President Pirc Musar's visit to Albania completes a series of visits to the Western Balkan countries to publicly support and motivate them in their efforts to meet the standards of the European Union. The start of negotiations for Albania's full membership is an important step and Slovenia encourages further efforts to adopt all the necessary reforms, particularly in terms of public administration, the judiciary and the fight against corruption and organised crime. It is well known that the President of the Republic of Slovenia is a supporter of the European Union’s enlargement, as she believes that this is the right path for the development of society. At the recent commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's EU membership, the presidents of Austria, Croatia, Italy, and Hungary also agreed that a more cohesive and stronger Europe, which includes the current and future candidate countries, is the right response to the current security challenges.

It is about the issue of regional security. Slovenia and Albania have invested heavily in the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans in the past, both within the Brdo-Brijuni process, in which both countries actively participate, and within NATO, of which both are members. At a time when we are facing challenges such as the war in Ukraine, regional security issues and the conflict in Gaza, our commitment to protecting those who suffer and promoting stability in the region is all the more important. "The images and news coming out of Gaza will haunt us. There is only one way to properly address this situation: to join forces and call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and the removal of all obstacles to humanitarian aid. This must be followed by a meaningful commitment to the political process," the President of the Republic stressed.

In the coming days, an agreement on cooperation in the protection against natural and other disasters will be signed between the two countries. No country is safe from natural disasters, nor can it cope with them alone. Solidarity and cooperation are of paramount importance today, President Pirc Musar underlined in this regard.

The two Presidents agreed that there are still a number of opportunities for further cooperation between the two countries, particularly in education, economic cooperation, environmental protection, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and tourism. The volume of trade with Albania amounted to EUR 104.757 million in 2023, compared to EUR 92.83 million in the previous year. Exports accounted for the bulk of the trade, amounting to EUR 84.35 million, while the value of imports from the country amounted to EUR 20.41 million. There are a number of new business opportunities in agriculture, forestry, renewable energy sources, infrastructure, maritime transport, sustainable tourism and digitisation. Albania has been invited, among other things, to participate as a partner at the leading regional business and trade fair MOS Celje 2024, which would be an ideal opportunity for the country to present itself as a good economic partner and an interesting tourist destination.

President Pirc Musar also met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, Lindita Nikolla, to discuss the opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the two countries and the process of moving closer to the European Union. She also underlined Slovenia's support for the Albanian initiative to waive tuition fees for Albanian students and expressed the hope that the draft agreement, which Slovenia had already submitted to the Albanian side for coordination, would soon be put into practice.

During her visit to the Albanian Parliament, the President of Slovenia also addressed the Members of Parliament and in her speech highlighted the three ideals that we should strive for, namely democracy, preservation of freedom and human dignity, because without these, it is impossible to live a life worthy of a human being. In this context, as she pointed out, the international community is torn between good and evil. "'Good' in the international community means cooperation, division of labour, mutual respect and inclusion. 'Evil' in the international community means the blind pursuit of one's own goals, without regard for others and no matter the means to achieve those goals." In this regard, she pointed to Russia's aggression against Ukraine as an example of a relic of reactionary behaviour closest to us. The Russian Federation has thus grossly trampled the entirety of the post-war international order. While Ukraine's allies are increasingly thinking that it will not be possible to help Ukraine without direct confrontation with Russia, the President believes that any peace initiative that would give diplomacy a chance is more welcome than weapons. The European elections will be an important indicator of where Europe wants to go, she said.

Tomorrow, the President will visit the new Slovenian Honorary Consulate in Durrës and the new investment of the Slovenian company M Sora in Vora, Albania. The President thanked the Albanian Prime Minister for all the support that had enabled M Sora to realise the project.