D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I would like to welcome my good friend Albanian Foreign Minister Edmond Panariti to Athens. We had very useful, good and sincere consultations. It is the second time we have met within a few days, and this symbolizes our mutual desire for substantial strengthening of the cooperation between the two countries. It shows our political will to open a new chapter and capitalize on the dynamic of Greek-Albanian relations.
We talked about all the issues that bring us close to one another, that unify us; the major potential for cooperation, to the benefit of both our peoples. Greece and Albania are allies in the Atlantic Alliance, future partners in the EU, and two neighbours with significant common interests in many, many sectors. The Greek National Minority must be a bridge of friendship between the two countries, and their position will improve as Albania progresses and adapts to European standards. That is why it is important to build trust between the representatives of the Minority and Albanian institutions. There is no place in our relations for propagators of extremist stereotypes, who, in perpetuating outmoded negative stereotypes, attempt to overshadow the multifaceted ties between our two peoples and hinder the defence of our common interests.
There is a strong foundation for expanding and deepening our cooperation even further. Trade, investments, tourism, cross-border cooperation, and of course the presence in Greece of thousands of Albanians who are working to prosper in our country. In New York we took an important step in the promotion of our energy cooperation with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the TAP, which imparts a strategic character to our relations, with obvious benefits for our economy, as well as for Europe’s energy security. Today we continued our talks so that we can move ahead soon to the signing of the relevant agreement.
Naturally, we discussed the pending issues that exist, such as the matter that has arisen with the agreement on delimitation of sea zones. We agreed that we need to work together to settle these pending matters at the soonest possible time. We also decided to intensify our contacts, establishing political consultations on the level of Foreign Minister twice a year. Additionally, we decided to recommend to our governments to introduce, beginning next year, a meeting on the intergovernmental, the inter-state level, regularly, between members of our governments who share responsibilities in the areas of our bilateral issues.
Greece consistently supports the European course of our friend Albania, just as we did when Albania was up for membership in NATO. There is still much to be done, but I know that the Albanian leadership themselves want to carry out the drastic reforms and changes required; reforms that will bring the country closer to European standards and prepare it for cooperation in the big European family. And Greece will be at Albania’s side in this process.
With these thoughts, I again welcome my friend the Albanian Foreign Minister, Mr. Panariti, to Athens, and I wish him every success in the efforts he is currently making – to the benefit of his country and the broader collective effort we are making to render our wider region an oasis of certainty, security, cooperation, peace and stability. I welcome him again, and I give him the floor.
E. PANARITI: Thank you so much, Minister Avramopoulos, dear Dimitris. It has been an honor and α privilege to have been invited by you to visit Greece, and I am so happy that I did this visit, which was a very, very intense and constructive and productive visit. We had a very open dialogue, constructive dialogue, sincere dialogue, between our two staffs and between us, and I am pretty much sure that as a result of this visit, we will experience a boost of our relations projected now towards the future, and to our common interest and in the interest of both peoples and both countries.
We evaluated jointly, with Minister Avramopoulos, the up-to-date advancement of our relations, and also we investigated the possibilities that lay in front of us in advancing even further our collaboration at all levels. Of course, in our common agenda we have dealt with issues dealing with our past, with our current problems, and with the problems in the future ahead.
I would like to thank Dimitris for his very open approach and dialogue, and thanks to your communication that we had on all the issues. Regarding the delimitation of marine waters, we are both convinced, both sides are convinced that we are very much interested in reaching an agreement, which in our view should be done in respect to the national constitution and international law. Both sides are convinced that we need to work in order to reach that.
We also discussed about other issues – very important issues which address the interest of our citizens – and we think that […] we also discussed about the questions dealing with the problems or issues regarding the Greek minority in Albania and the Albanian community in Greece, which will serve as bridges of collaboration and mutual understanding and as a solid basis for boosting our relations for the future. Of course, I would like to thank Minister Avramopoulos for his support and for his very constructive position regarding the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which is a very, very positive development, which is an indication that under the same spirit both countries should work also in reaching future agreements on several other issues, and which lay in the interest not only of our countries, but of the entire region.
I informed Minister Avramopoulos about the progress that Albania is making towards its EU integration road. We are very much committed to abiding by the 12 priorities set by the EU Commission. Minister Avramopoulos indicated that Greece will stand by Albania towards EU integration, and we think that with the progress that the country is making, we will soon obtain the status of EU candidate country this year.
Considering other issues, I appreciated the commitment of the Greek government in support of the education and culture of the Albanian citizens, and, you know, recently we experienced the opening of a new school in Volos, which is a very good indication, a very solid and fruitful contribution that the Greek government is providing in the field of education of the Albanian citizens, and I would like to express my gratitude on that, and that that works even further to boost our collaboration in that area for the preservation of the language and our culture.
Of course, we share the same opinion regarding the prospect that both countries have towards the Euroatlantic challenges, and considering that this year us a very special year for Albania, it is the centennial of our independence, I invited Dimitris to pay a visit in Albania in this very historical event of our country.
I would like to thank you again for your warmest welcome and for the constructive and open dialogue, and let us consider it a new era of better and more open relations between Greece and Albania. I pretty much share your proposal for creating a solid format of Ministers that will have much more frequent contacts and address every issue that stands actually and in the future in front of us.
Thank you again, thank you.
October 3, 2012