TIRANA, May 24 – The opposition’s calls for national protest on Saturday did not stop several international representatives from visiting Tirana this week over a number of foreign policy issues.
Florian Hahn, spokesperson for Europe and Christian Social Union lawmaker in Germany’s Bundestag, arrived on Wednesday in Tirana for a series of meetings with high-ranking officials.
Hahn met with politicians from both ends of the political spectrum, starting from opposition leader Lulzim Basha to Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Hahn’s Tirana visit was scheduled to take place since the beginning of May — the day former Minister of Interior Saimir Tahiri resigned his parliamentary immunity — but was cancelled on short notice.
He also met the head of the Socialist Movement for Integration Monika Kryemadhi on Wednesday — one of the main protest organizers and supporters — who wrote in context of their meeting that “Albania’s integration should serve Albanians, and not politics.”
In addition to Hahn, the 15th Southeast European Meeting on regional security and countering violent extremism that will also take place in Tirana on Saturday will bring in the capital a number of Southeast leaders and lawmakers.
Among them is US Deputy Assistant Secretary Pete Marocco.
Lastly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation is also expected to conduct a meeting with heads of institutions and the opposition’s leaders Lulzim Basha and Monika Kryemadhi.
Following the delegation, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger will meet with the government’s and opposition’s highest ranking officials on May 29.
