Albania’s good ties in the region

TIRANA, April 19 – Deputy Foreign Minister Edith Harxhi highly considered Tirana’s good relations with the neighboring countries.
In an interview to the Southeast European Times Harxhi said that Albania’s foreign policy is based on two things: friendly relations with neighbors and pursuing Euro-Atlantic integration.
She also hailed the election of a woman, Atifete Jahjaga, as the new president in Kosovo as something new and a big victory, not only for Kosovo, but also for women who are active in the social, political life in the region. She strongly urged more participation from women in the life of the countries.
Harxhi also said that despite a formal request from Albanian President Bamir Topi to Serb President Boris Tadic to visit Tirana there has been yet no answer. She added, however, that there has been good will on both sides, not only for this visit, but also for other issues of priority for the past two to three years. The deputy minister considered as very good ties with neighboring Greece, saying that both countries have tried to keep a constant string of meetings over the last three years.
Relations with Montenegro are very good, warm and friendly, as with Macedonia, she said, adding that Albanians in Montenegro have a relatively good life and are well represented in the government of Montenegro. On Macedonia she said that the lack of proper implementation of the Ohrid Agreement might cause problems in the future in relations between Albanians and Macedonians there.
“I hope the elections in Macedonia will bring something new to the Macedonian and Albanian political scene,” she said.