The speech of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Igli Hasani Conference of ambassadors Tirana, August 26, 2024

Dear Prime Minister,

Dear Members of Parliament,

Dear colleagues, friends and guests

Ladies and gentlemen ambassadors, consuls general,

Acknowledgments are usually made at the end of a speech, but I will express them at the beginning of this short introduction.

- I take the opportunity to thank Prime Minister Edi Rama for his presence here today at our conference and the attention he has paid and continues to pay to diplomacy, work and the dynamics of our foreign policy.

- A special thanks goes to the deputy prime minister and colleague from Slovenia, Tanja Fajon, good friend of Albania and Albanians, supporter and advocate of the European integration processes of Albania, but also of the countries of the region; which will join us shortly;

- Without a doubt, my gratitude also goes to the chairmen of the parliamentary commissions, all my fellow ministers, and those representatives of civil society, the media and the academic world, Albanians and foreign friends, who had the kindness to be part of this three-day assembly, eloquent expression of the fact that the foreign policy of our country and its implementers are not a closed sect isolated from the rest of the Albanian society, but an open, democratic system today.

Without hesitation, we can say that our diplomacy is a living, multidimensional organism, designed towards the future, which operates according to the principle of communication vessels not only with other segments of the government and the state, but also with the whole society, a team able to meet the complex challenges of the world we live in and offer perspectives.

Why is the Conference of Ambassadors held today after eight years? The idea was to revive a useful tradition and return to the experience of exchanging ideas and interacting among the members of the same organism, building a necessary synergy between them. Seen as a moment of reflection and balance of joint work, the Conference should serve as an effective instrument of what needs to be done more and, what is more important, what needs to be done better today and in the days to come. And this conference will be an annual meeting and we will not wait for years to remember it as a vision.

In recent years, Albania's foreign policy has seen important and previously unknown growth: the UN Security Council, the OSCE presidency, the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the summit of Southeast European countries - Ukraine , the Presidency of the Berlin Process, and a long series of regional initiatives; the list would go on, so I'll stop here. Of course, these achievements have not only given a new profile to the country's image in the world, but have made diplomacy more and more proactive, which makes us feel arrogant in our work and activity, but, on the other hand, even more responsible, more aware and more self-demanding. This means that now we are not allowed to slow down the pace of work, let alone get stuck in place.

Dear colleagues,

During this year, I have been able to count on you and your dedication to serving our country. Despite sometimes facing headwinds and unexpected events, I think and can say that we have taken real action and are building useful standards for collective action.

The second thing I wanted to emphasize in honoring the work done in recent years is effective multilateralism, which, even though we are a small country, we have been able to protect and become actors.

However, this is not enough. Expectations are high and your dedication to serving our country and citizens must exceed them. Our diplomacy is now the activity of people of different backgrounds, whose skills have been shaped outside of belonging to a single body. Therefore, starting from the experience and skills of each of you, from several professions, we expect you to better incorporate them in our foreign service, and thus enable us to have a more agile, more capable and more efficient diplomacy. strong. Also, it is important to combine the specific skills of the diplomat profession with specialised knowledge in other fields, technology and social media, and where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have to ensure an inter-ministerial coordination by implementing synergies and effective knowledge, but clearly taking the lead.

Soon the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs will have a new structure, which, first of all, aims to improve the work and, also, to streamline and intensify the relations between the two main members: the Minister and the Representation, which, in in my judgement, they should feed each other with an unceasing energy. Fragmentation and refractoriness must be a thing of the past, as must the mentality of division within this service into the privileged and the wage-earners.

Although it is not a question of a new structure in the edifice of Albanian diplomacy, the Diplomatic Academy must necessarily have a new face and content and serve as a bridge of communication and cooperation between foreign policy actors and civil society and the academic world .

Meanwhile , very soon we will have a new foreign service law. This law was not drafted simply to draft something, but to serve the new spirit and dynamism that we strive to give to the work of diplomatic activity in every dimension, inside and outside the country, in bilateral and multilateral relations, with international organisations and others. Above all, the law will not be the refuge of the incompetent and the mediocre, but will support and stimulate everyone who loves this profession and is devoted to it with flesh and soul. Among many others, the law will open the doors of the foreign service to all Albanians and Albanians who work in international organisations, recognizing their merits, work and contribution.

Here, allow me to close this opening speech to pave the way for the Prime Minister's speech, convinced that you are waiting for him with interest and eagerness.

Good work. Thank you!

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