Albright invites Nano
After his political tour of Europe, the Albanian Prime Minister will travel to Washington
WASHINGTON—Washington will host the Albanian Prime Minister.
On September 26, Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Madlen Ollbrajt. The meeting will take place during the days of the United Nations General Assembly session.
It was senior officials of the U.S. State Department themselves who confirmed the Secretary of State’s invitation to the Albanian Prime Minister. Secretary of State Ollbrajt and Albanian Prime Minister Nano will discuss prospects for restoring stability in Albania and securing foreign aid during their meeting.
Nano’s visit to the United States will also include a series of meetings with senior Washington officials.
Madlen Ollbrajt
Closer to Europe
How far is Brussels from Tirana? This question is being asked because Brussels is now known as the capital of a united Europe.
On the occasion of Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano’s visit there, where he was warmly received by the European Union’s highest-ranking figures, the question above lost its geographic meaning and acquired a new political significance. As a result, following Nano’s very successful visit to Brussels, the answer is clear: Tirana has never been closer to Brussels than it is today. This is the result of the broad, concrete support that Fatos Nano and the government he represents found in Brussels. Several hundred million dollars make up the sum allocated to Albania to set it on the one-way road to stability and normality.
The first lesson from this is that democratic Europe is showing on this occasion that it considers the deep and extraordinary crisis that gripped Albania in recent months to have been overcome. Having followed with concern the latest dramatic developments in our country, where, among other things, the notion that Albania belongs to Europe had also begun to fade, it has found an opportunity to affirm its support for Fatos Nano’s government as it continues along the path it has embarked upon.
But support from Europe certainly does not mean that it is telling us to sit back and do no work. This entirely mistaken idea had taken hold throughout the program of the previous government, which, by abusing the slogan with which it came to power, “We govern, the world helps us,” created an illusory [eje?] for Albanians toward Europe. This [eje?] has often been full of trauma, has been fraught with human tragedy, and has also been a [eje?] through the fog, as a result of the imbalances that emerged when our foreign policy manufactured more friends than enemies.
Europe wants us Albanians to roll up our sleeves here in Albania, not to climb into boats and make for the shores of friendly Italy. Europe wants us Albanians to abandon the language of hatred and political division, finding understanding and a spirit of cooperation for the much-desired democratic reconstruction. Europe wants us to integrate naturally and without strain, propaganda, or pomp, instead of saying after every visit that its doors have opened to us—as if we were in the tale of Ali Baba.
In the heartfelt words of Mr. Santer, President of the European Commission, there was a sense of disappointment over the aid given to Albania in previous years, aid that, unfortunately for the Albanian people, went to waste. But this “episode” occupied very little space in the high-trust, friendly spirit manifested by him and all the figures of this powerful organization as they welcomed the Albanian Prime Minister. This was not to say, “What’s past is past,” but because the new Albanian government has all the qualities, guarantees, and ambitions needed to steer Albania toward building a market economy, the rule of law, and a developed democracy of the European kind.
The Albanian Prime Minister meets with Zhak Santer at the EU; in Luxembourg, with Prime Minister Zhan Klod Jukner and the President of the European Investment Bank, Ganimatas
Prime Minister of Luxembourg Zhan Klod Jukner and Prime Minister Nano
The Albanian Prime Minister meets with Zhak Santer at the EU; in Luxembourg, with Prime Minister Zhan Klod Jukner and the President of the European Investment Bank, Ganimatas
Prime Minister of Luxembourg Zhan Klod Jukner and Prime Minister Nano
