The Ambassadors of the Permanent Missions of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States of America to the OSCE in Vienna visited the Republic of Albania on 18-19 March as part of a regional tour of the Western Balkans.
The visiting group consisted of Ambassador Fatène BENHABYLES-FOETH (France), Ambassador Susanne SCHÜTZ (Germany), Ambassador Stefano BALDI (Italy), Ambassador Neil HOLLAND (UK) and Ms Katherine BRUCKER (United States). As part of their regional tour, they will visit Montenegro before returning to Vienna on 20 March.
During the visit to Albania, the Ambassadors held meetings with the President of the Republic Bajram Begaj, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Igli Hasani and the Chair of the Parliament Lindita Nikolla. The meetings offered the opportunity to discuss recent political developments at national and regional level, with a particular focus on OSCE support to Albania’s reform programme, including on the path to the EU membership. They spoke about the electoral reform and OSCE/ODIHR’s important contribution. The Ambassadors commended the commitment of the Albanian authorities to engage with OSCE/ODIHR’s recommendations for election reforms and stressed the importance to finalise and implement them ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, including with the support of the OSCE Presence in Albania.
The interlocutors shared also their concerns with regard to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its wide-ranging consequences for security and prosperity in Europe and in the Western Balkan region in particular. The Ambassadors commended Albania’s strong and principled support to Ukraine at the OSCE and other international fora, as also highlighted during the recent Ukraine – South East Europe Summit.
The Ambassadors visited the OSCE Presence in Albania and met with its staff for an overview of the numerous important activities and projects carried out by the Presence. They also met with the Presence’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG) – consisting of young people aged 18-25 years old and supporting the Presence on how to integrate a youth perspective in all its planning and programmatic activities, raise awareness and promote OSCE values in the country.
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Publish date : 2024-03-20 07:00:00
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The post Visit in Albania of the Ambassadors of the OSCE Quint countries. first appeared on Love Europe.
Author : love-europe
Publish date : 2024-10-07 02:44:47
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