Tirana has an eye on ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia, says minister

TIRANA, Nov. 23 – Albania’s Minister of Social Welfare and Youth Erion Veliaj visited southern Serbian region of Presevo Saturday in a sign that Tirana keeps a close eye on the Albanian minority in that area.
Veliaj also met with Serbian officials in charge of the area, head of the coordinating body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja Zoran Stankovic, to discuss cooperation and student exchange between Albania and the three municipalities with a predominantly ethnic-Albanian population.
Both officials pledged to further strengthen the cooperation for a better future for the generations to come in education, culture, sport and other fields. Once considered as powder keg, now the Balkans and its countries are showing their willingness of cooperation and coexistence and the possibility of solving their issues through dialogue.
The two officials stressed the need for constant communication as the basis for their future cooperation. They also agreed for exchange visits by youths of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja to Albania and vice versa. Stankovic also said that Belgrade had agreed on the use of 18 Albanian textbooks in their communities.
Veliaj also met with local ethnic Albanian leaders and community and took part at a ceremony with a photo exhibition. He met with the non-governmental and officials of ethnic Albanian parties from southern Serbia in separate meetings.
Veliaj’s visit is part of the coordinating work for the upcoming visit to Belgrade by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama.