I have the special
pleasure today to extend to Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki,
President of the General Assembly, my congratulations
on his excellent work in presiding over the sixty-fourth
session of this Assembly. I would also like to thank his
predecessor, Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for his
work in successfully leading the Assembly at its sixty-
third session.
I avail myself of this opportunity to extend my
greetings to all those present in this Hall today. I also
express my deep gratitude to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon for his high competence and professionalism
in leading the United Nations, and acknowledge his
important personal contribution to the success of this
session.
We are gathered here today after a year in which
the world has faced one of the worst financial and
economic crises in history. We are gathered here once
again at a time when hundreds of millions of people
are being oppressed by tyrannical regimes or are facing
extreme poverty, disease and major health or social
calamities. We are gathered here at a time when brutal
conflicts continue to take the lives of innocent people
in various regions of our world, and when nuclear
crises in Iran and North Korea represent a genuine
threat to world peace.
Albania and the Albanian people continue to
engage in international cooperation and are determined
to offer their modest contribution to 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.
(spoke in French)
As a European country, Albania remains fully
committed and determined to carry out every reform
and to take every decision and every other measure
required of it on the road to membership of the
European Union (EU). More than 94 per cent of
Albanians support Albania’s application process for
joining the EU. This is not only highly encouraging,
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but also a major obligation for my Government to
proceed swiftly along this path. This autumn, we
expect a positive response from the Council of
Ministers of the European Union to our application for
candidate status, while we also hope to obtain visa
liberalization as soon as possible.
Albania is a new but functioning democracy.
About two months ago, we held general parliamentary
elections. The international watchdog Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reported
that the elections met the principal standards of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and deserve a generally positive assessment. The newly
elected Government has proclaimed the following core
pillars of its programmes: building new and modern
infrastructure throughout the country; bringing Albania
into the digital age; reforming the health-care and
education systems; fighting poverty, and creating new
jobs for Albanian citizens.
Next year here at the United Nations, we will
assess the progress we have made towards fulfilling the
Millennium Goals. Albania has put intense effort into
achieving significant progress in this area. Over the
past three years, some 400,000 Albanians have moved
up from below the poverty line, while extreme poverty
has been reduced by 70 per cent; tens of thousands of
new jobs have been created; the number of university
students has doubled and infant mortality has been
drastically reduced.
(spoke in English)
The years 2008 and 2009 have seen the worst
financial and economic crisis the world has known
since the Great Depression. The Albanian economy has
felt the consequences of the crisis. Its exports fell by
10 per cent and the levels of financial credit were
drastically reduced. Despite these consequences,
however, Albanian gross domestic product (GDP) grew
by more than 5 per cent in the first six months of 2009,
our revenues saw an 8 per cent increase compared with
those of last year, and foreign direct investment was
59 per cent higher than last year.
I believe that the main factors protecting the
Albanian economy in this crisis were, first, the very
fact that Albania has the lowest fiscal burden in Europe
and that its economy is largely based on liberal
standards; secondly, the fact that my Government has
invested 10 per cent of the country’s GDP in
infrastructure projects in 2009, or, taking into account
investment for 2008, 20 per cent of GDP over the past
two years; thirdly, our thorough reforms aimed at
achieving smaller Government, as a result of which
Albania now has one of the smallest public
administrations per capita in Europe and, indeed, in the
entire world; and, last but not least, the very favourable
climate for business and investment created by my
Government over the past four years. I take this
opportunity to invite investors from all countries to
consider my country for their projects, which will
definitely turn out to be success stories for them, and
for Albania.
Albania has maintained excellent cooperation
with the United Nations and its agencies. Albania is
one of the pilot countries of the Delivering as One
initiative, and through its experience and positive
results is making a real contribution to this United
Nations reform. Delivering as One provides for
excellent savings of time and money, as well as much
more efficient coordination of the work of United
Nations agencies in their cooperation with Member
States. This project has had an excellent track record in
my country due to the coherence and better
coordination of the activities of United Nations bodies
with those of our national authorities, particularly with
regard to aligning international projects with the
country’s priorities.
We have been pleased to see that our reform
priorities and national strategy on European integration
are in full harmony with the Millennium Development
Goals and those of the Delivering as One initiative.
The outcome has demonstrated that this project, the
philosophy of which depends on the concept of
national ownership, has produced more efficient
implementation of United Nations development
programmes.
Albania is a multireligious society with religious
harmony par excellence. In the framework of the
Alliance of Civilizations and in accordance with our
national strategy on intercultural dialogue, we offer our
example of religious harmony and coexistence, one of
the most invaluable spiritual heritages of our nation, as
a contribution to the aims of this United Nations
initiative.
This general debate was preceded by the Summit
on Climate Change. It gives me great pleasure to
inform the Assembly that more than 90 per cent of the
electricity my country consumes comes from
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renewable hydroelectric power. Although we are open
to other energy sources, including nuclear, we are
working hard and have so far secured about €5 billion
in new investment for new hydroelectric, wind and
biomass energy plants. Albania intends to become a
small super-Power of green energy in the region.
The last decade of brutal conflict in the Balkans
seems to have been consigned to the annals of history.
The countries of that region are now engaged in a
process of cooperation in all fields and in European
and Euro-Atlantic integration. This year, Albania and
Croatia became full members of NATO. Other
countries of the region have made significant progress
towards EU and NATO membership.
I must stress at this point that, although only a
short time has passed since Kosovo’s declaration of
independence, the establishment of the independent
state of Kosovo has become an important factor for
peace and stability in South-East Europe. In that
country, which declared independence 20 months ago,
inter-ethnic relations have improved and inter-ethnic
tensions have been significantly reduced. Serbs are no
longer leaving Kosovo. The opposite is happening —
many Serbian families are coming back to Kosovo to
build their future in their country. My Government is
determined to help and assist the Government of
Kosovo in its projects to facilitate the return of the
displaced people of that country.
The European Union has deployed its Rule of
Law Mission, which is doing an excellent job and
providing extremely valuable help to the Government
of Kosovo and its authorities in consolidating the rule
of law and functional democracy in Kosovo, as well as
in developing the highest European standards for the
coexistence of the various ethnic communities. The
International Security Force in Kosovo has also played
a very positive role, and the very fact that its strength
has been reduced is clear evidence of the stability in
that country.
Meanwhile, 63 States Members of the United
Nations have recognized independent Kosovo, and the
Republic of Kosovo has become a member of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Nevertheless, Kosovo has not yet assumed the place
that it deserves in the family of sovereign countries of
this prestigious Organization.
On this occasion, I would like to point out that all
the countries that recognize the Republic of Kosovo
and the international institutions that have accepted it
in their forums as an independent member State have
done so because, above all else, they are convinced that
the independence of Kosovo and its international
recognition make a major contribution to peace and
stability in South-East Europe. That is why I take this
opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all
Governments and States Members of the United
Nations that are considering a review and assessment
of the existing reality in South-East Europe and the
possibility of recognizing the independence of Kosovo.
In my judgment, that would be a great contribution to
peace, stability, security and cooperation in our region.
Fourteen years ago, after condemning the
coercive oppression, violence and barbarism of the
Milosevic regime against Albanians in Kosovo, 137
States Members of the United Nations voted in
resolution 49/204 of 23 December 1994 to recognize
and respect the will of the inhabitants of Kosovo.
Today, that will has become the reality of an
independent Kosovo and has been recognized by 63
countries that took that historic vote. I hope and firmly
believe that the rest of the countries that voted for that
historic resolution will reaffirm the will that they
expressed 14 years ago — this time through their
recognition of Europe’s newest State, the Republic of
Kosovo.
With its foreign policy of peace and good
relations with all countries, its modest but important
contribution to international missions of peace and
human rights protection through its policy of good
neighbourliness, and a moderate and constructive role
in the region, Albania has become a producer of and a
direct contributor to stability and security in the region
and at the global level.
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 other countries. Only about two months
ago, Albania doubled its number of troops in the
International Security Assistance Force 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 that promote peace, stability and security in the
world and that keep in check those two countries that
threaten it — Iran and North Korea — with their very
dangerous nuclear programmes.
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All States Members of the United Nations share
the responsibility for the efficient functioning of this
Organization. No one can ignore the track record of the
United Nations activities in many fields. Whenever
there is a crisis, poverty, famine, disease or disaster,
the United Nations is there to provide relief and
support.
However, it has long been evident that the world,
countries and the complexity of international relations
develop much faster than the United Nations is able to
adjust and adapt itself to the new realities. That is why
Albania strongly supports the continuation of the
reform process of this Organization and the further
improvement of the United Nations system. A more
efficient decision-making mechanism is pivotal in that
respect. We support the efforts to reform the Security
Council. We believe that in order to meet the
challenges of the twenty-first century, we need a
Security Council that is efficient, transparent and
legitimate in its decision-making process and in which
regions and individual Member States are adequately
represented.