We are gathered here today, after a year, during which the World has faced one of the heaviest financial and economic crisis in history. We are gathered here once again in a time when hundreds of millions of people in our world are being oppressed by tyrannical regimes or are facing extreme poverty, diseases and major health or social calamities. We are gathered here in a time when brutal conflicts continue to take away the lives of innocent people in several regions of our world.
Albania and the Albanian people continue to engage in international cooperation and are determined to offer their modest contribution in advancing peace, freedom and security and respect for human rights, fighting poverty, promoting sustainable development and prosperity, and, last but not least, protecting the environment.
A country of new democracy, but a functional one
As a European country, Albania remained fully committed and determined to carry out every reform and to take every decision and every other measure required for its membership into the European Union. About 94 per cent of Albanians supporting the country’s Union membership process was not only a strong encouragement, but also a major obligation on the Government to proceed quickly in that direction.
This current autumn we expect the EU Council of Ministers and the European Commission adopt positive decisions on the status of the candidate country and in regard of examination of our request for the visa liberalization.
Albania is the country of a new democracy, but functional one. About two months ago, Albania held the general elections about which the international observers, OSCE/ODHIR said they met the main standards of the OSCE and they deserve a general positive assessment. The newly formed government has defined as the main pillar of its program the building of a new modern infrastructure countrywide, taking Albania into the digital age, reform of the health system, education, and fight against poverty and employment of the Albanian citizens.
Next year, together we shall make an analysis of the progress in regard to meeting the Millennium Goals. And on the Millennium Development Goals, the country has put a lot of effort into achieving those Goals, to the extent that in the last three years, around 400,000 Albanians came out of the poverty line, and extreme poverty was reduced by 70 per cent; tens of thousands of new jobs were created; the number of university students doubled; and infant mortality got reduced drastically.
Factors that protect Albania from the crisis
The years 2008 and 2009 saw the worst financial and economic crisis that the world has ever known since the Great Depression. The Albanian economy felt the consequences of this crisis. Its exports fell by 10 percent and the level of financial crediting was drastically reduced. Despite these consequences, however, Albanian GDP grew by more than 5 percent in the first six months of 2009; our revenues marked an 8 percent increase in comparison to those of last year; and, foreign direct investment were 59 percent higher than last year.
I believe the main factors that protected the Albanian economy from this crisis have been: first of all, the fact that Albania has the lowest fiscal burden in Europe and its economy is largely based on liberal standards; second, the fact that the government invested in infrastructure projects 10 percent of the country’s GDP in 2009, or 20 percent of the GDP of the year 2008 invested in infrastructure during the last two years taken together; third, our profound reforms towards small government, as a result of which Albania now has one of the smallest public administration per capita in Europe and in the entire world; and last, but not least, the most favorable climate for business and investments created by my government during the past four years.
I take this opportunity to invite investors from all of your countries to consider my country in their projects that will definitely turn out to be a new success story for them and for Albania.
“Delivering as One”. a project that has marked an excellent track record
Albania has maintained an excellent cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies. Albania is one of the pilot countries of “Delivering as One” initiative and through its experience and positive results, is making an important contribution to this UN reform. “Delivering as One” provides for an excellent time and money saving mechanism as well as a much more efficient coordination of the work of the UN agencies in their cooperation with the member state. This project has marked an excellent track record in my country due to the coherence and better coordination of the activities of the United Nations bodies with those of the national authorities in particular -with regard to aligning international projects with country’s priorities.
We are happy to realize, that our reform priorities and our national strategy on European integration is fully harmonized with the Millennium Development Goals and those of the “Delivering as One” initiative. The outcome has demonstrated that this project, the philosophy of which lies on the concept of national ownership, has yielded higher efficiency in the implementation of UN development programms.
Albania is a plural-religious society with a religious harmony par excellence. In die framework of the Alliance of Civilizations and in accordance with our National Strategy on intercultural dialogue, we bring forward our example of religious harmony and co-existence, one of the most invaluable spiritual heritages of our nation, as a contribution to the aims of this UN initiative.
This Session was preceded by the Summit on Climate Change. It gives me great pleasure to let you know that 90 percent of electricity diat my country consumes comes from a renewable hydro power. Although we are open to other energy sources, including nuclear, we are working hard and have secured so far about 5 Billion Euros of new investments for new hydro power and wind and biomass energy plants. Albania intends to become a small superpower of energy in the region.
Determined to help Kosova
The last decade of the brutal conflicts in the Balkan region seems to have been archived in the annals of history. The countries of this region are engaged in a process of cooperation in all fields and European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
This year, Albania and Croatia became full members of NATO. Other countries in the region have made significant progress towards EU and NATO membership. I must stress at this point that the establishment of the independent state of Kosova, although only a small period of time has passed since its declaration of independence, has turned into an important factor of peace and stability in the South East European Region. In this country, which declared its independence 20 months ago, inter-ethnic tensions have significantly been reduced. Serbs are not leaving Kosova anymore, the opposite is happening, many Serbian families are coming back to Kosova to build their future there. My government is determined to help and assist the government of Kosova in its projects that facilitate the return of the displaced people in the country.
The European Union has sent its EULEX Mission, which is doing an excellent job and providing an extremely precious help to the government of Kosova and its authorities into consolidating the rule of law and functional democracy in Kosova as well as into developing the best European standards of coexistence of various ethnic communities. KFOR also has played a very positive role and the fact that its mission has been drastically reduced is a clear evidence for stability in this country. Meanwhile, 62 country-members of the United Nations have recognized the independent Kosova, and the Republic of Kosova has become a member of the IMF and the World Bank. Nevertheless, Kosova has not yet taken the place it deserves in the family of sovereign countries of this prestigious organization.
I would like to point out in this occasion that all countries that recognize the Republic of Kosova and the international institutions that accepted it in as an independent member-state did so because, above all else, they are convinced that the independence of Kosova and its international recognition bring a major contribution to peace and stability in the Balkan region.
This is why I take this opportunity and express my deepest gratitude to all the governments of the member-states of the United Nations that will consider in their agendas the review and assessment of this existing reality in the South Eastern European region and the possibility of recognizing the independence of Kosova. In my humble judgment, this would be a great contribution to the peace, stability and security in our region.
14 years ago, after condemning the coercive oppression, violence and barbarisms of the Milosevic Regime against Albanians in Kosova, 137 member states of the United Nations voted in the Resolution 49/204 of 23 December 1994 to recognize and respect the will of the inhabitants of Kosova. Today, this will is turned into the reality of the independent Kosova. Today, this will is recognized by 62 countries that took that historic vote.
I hope and firmly believe that the rest of the countries that voted that historic resolution will reaffirm the will that they expressed 14 years ago, this time through the recognition of the newest European state, the Republic Kosova.
Albania supports every effort for global peace and security
With its foreign policy of peace and good relations with all other countries, its modest but important contribution in international missions of peace and human rights protection through its policy of good neighborliness as well as moderate and constructive role in the region, Albania has turned into a producer and direct contributor of stability and security in regional and global scales.
Today, Albania participates in peacekeeping missions in several international operations in the framework of the United Nations and other regional security organizations, such as in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Chad and others. Only about 2 months ago, Albania doubled the number of troops in its ISAF Mission. My country acknowledges and supports every effort for global peace and security and will continue to support all efforts of the United Nations, NATO and other actors promoting peace, stability and security in the world, also towards those countries that are a threat to the world, like Iran and North Korea with their very dangerous nuclear programs.
An efficient, transparent Security Council
All country-members of the United Nations share the responsibility for the efficient functioning of this organization. No one could ignore the track record of the United Nation’s activities in many fields. Whenever there is a crisis, poverty, famine disease, or a disaster, die United Nations is there to provide relief and support.
However, for a long time now, it has been evident that the world, countries and the complexity of the relations develop much faster than die United Nations is able to adjust to new realities. This is why Albania strongly supports the continuation of the reform process of this organization and the further improvement of the system of the United Nations.
A more efficient decision-making mechanism is pivotal in this respect. We support the efforts to reform the Security Council. We believe that in order to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, we need a Security Council that is efficient, transparent and legitimate in its decision-making process and, where regional and individual member-countries are adequately represented
._______________________
Address of Prime Minister of Albania H.E. Sali Berisha at 64-session of UN General Assembly :
