Thank you Lori,

Hello to everyone,

Dear Vice President of the Assembly, Madam Vasilika

Dear Brian and Duro,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen Ambassadors,

Dear friends

I would like to thank you all for your presence here. It is a pleasure for me to commemorate with you together the UN Day. Brian said it at the end, while I would like to start with a special thank-you to the women and men of the UN team in Albania, who with their work and dedication are an integral part of our efforts to build a more developed and fair society.The desire for lasting peace was the force that established the United Nations Organization. It was born on the ruins of the most devastating war in the history of mankind, in the hope of a better, more just world and with the solemn promise, “Never again!”.

Today, 73 years later, the “environment of freedom,” as Dean Acheson rightly defined the accumulated situation created by the new international order, is more challenging than ever before. I am beginning with what the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutierrez called disorder of confidence deficit. The crisis of confidence is expressing its symptoms, first of all, with the crisis against multilateralism itself being accompanied by pressure on the values of liberal democracy. Universalization of human rights, gender equality, and efforts to eradicate extreme poverty have guaranteed a better life, dignity, respect for millions and millions of people across the globe. And yet, attacks on liberal democracy are increasing. The growing populist rhetoric and developed societies, the banalization of hate speech, tendencies for national contraction, call for increased vigilance and impose the need for democratic co-operation at international level. We believe in this cooperation, because due to this collaboration, since the fall of the iron curtain, our life and destiny as a nation changed for the better.

Second, the security situation continues to be so fragile in many regions of the world that it is increasingly difficult to plan solutions based on priorities. Because of the weakening of the multilateral dimension, it seems as if sustainable solutions are not yet on the horizon. We in Southeastern Europe are still far from genuine reconciliation between people and joint thinking about the future. The non-distant past of political conflicts, combined with the lack of a culture of democratic state-building and with a huge development gap from the rest of Europe, puts the societies of our countries in face of unusual challenges.

Third, we are living in an extraordinary time of the technological revolution where not only structural challenges are being outlined for society, but the very nature of man is being questioned.

The fourth industrial revolution, with inventions such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, autonomous systems of deadly weapons, social media used as platforms for fake news that advance populism, are indicative of a very interrelated but, paradoxically, fragmented and polarized world.Young people find it easy to build up confidence, but also easier to lose it. This is so true in today’s world where populism of all kinds and nationalist tendencies rising in Europe and beyond are aimed at creating myths with disasters in the horizon and rescuing heroes, but fail to create opportunities for mobility, employment, better education and personal fulfillment for young people.

Precisely, in such moments where inspirational narratives are lacking and trust in institutions is weakening, the role of the UN must become even more important, as sovereign nations and multilateralism are complementary and not exclusive.The world today is looking for a new equilibrium. The UN should continue to change and reform in order to precede this reality. Change carries hope when there is a clear orientation towards the future. In the absence of this orientation, the change brings confusion, insecurity and inevitable conflict. That being said, we have to admit that there is no local or regional forum that can address global issues and there can be no successful bilateral cooperation to resolve multilateral problems. So we need a renewed, less bureaucratic UN that fits in with the needs of the time. It is clear that the 21st century imposes the need for greater creativity on the part of the organization itself.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mindful of both challenges and opportunities, Albania is committed to the global partnership for sustainable development. A few months ago, as I already mentioned here, the Albanian government presented at the high-level political forum in New York, the voluntary report on the scale of implementation of the Agenda 2030 in our country. The report notes that over 80% of the 2013 Agenda goals are reflected in the pillars of our Development and Integration Strategy, thus capitalizing on the reforms related to the European integration process. The formal commitment of the European Union to open accession talks with Albania in June 2019 is based precisely on the progress, the process of reforms for the country’s future and will be a major impetus for even deeper and lasting reforms. It will be today’s 20-25-year-old young people, i.e. tomorrow’s leaders, those who will fully crown this project. There are not only major reforms or legal changes that actually bring about progress.

Often practical modest measures, meaningful little steps make the difference. Decisions that we have taken for the removal of the notorious plastic bags, the measures for drinking water use, the energy management that starts with the payment of the bill, the occasional campaigns for the cleaning of the territory and the beaches, the Urban Renaissance in respect of sustainable environmental development, the multiplication of green spaces and playgrounds, are just some of the steps taken in a process of changing the mentality as a whole and part of the education of the younger generation, in particular.

The same sense of responsibility and awareness has led us for decades in our human rights policy. We believe that human rights are universal, inseparable, interdependent and interrelated. We would particularly encourage young people to deepen their knowledge and understanding of human rights to look at the past and see where hatred, discrimination, intolerance and xenophobia have led mankind to.

With the same concern, since at the very beginning, we have been focusing on the fight against violent extremism and terrorism through special policies and programs. After several years of work, the Albanian Government approved the Action Plan following implementation of Resolution 1325, “Women, Peace and Security”, demonstrating Albania’s real commitment to gender equality and representation in all areas, as well as the fulfillment of multilateral commitments undertaken within the UNO. The vision of our work within some regional and multilateral platforms focusing on youth, human rights and security is a complimentary, not exclusive or overlapping vision. For this reason, I hail and express my commitment at the same time for the continued support from MoFA for the closer cooperation that is formalized here today between the UN and RYCO.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Albania has put its candidacy for the OSCE Presidency for 2020. We want to contribute to strengthening security and cooperation in the OSCE area and to broaden our engagement in European and international issues.One of our priorities will be to encourage and involve youth in the security and peace agenda to better highlight and administer their contribution to political, economic and social development.Also, we have put the candidacy for a provisional member country at the UN Security Council for the term 2022-2023 in the elections to be held in 2021.
We believe that multilateralism is the best formula, tried and tested, to maintain the achievements and guarantee the future, respect and equality.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is clear that our Universal Organization still has much to do, to properly fulfill its mandate. Together, we must not agree with short-term solutions to the detriment of long-term objectives and benefits.Our relationship with history has taught us that we need to get rid of its shackles, so that history does not serve as a prison of thought, but as a stimulant of cooperation with each other.In all these respects, working with youth by raising interest and ensuring their commitment is the best and safer investment to manage the present by guaranteeing the success of the future. As an unshakable supporter of the UN Youth, Peace and Security Agenda and Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), Albania strongly believes in the role of the new generation in favor of reconciliation, strengthened security, building of sustainable peace and implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In closing, I would like to emphasize that any global point of view should take into account the personal, human perspective. Even seemingly global phenomena have roots in the inner life of man.

For example, terrorism is both political and an internal psychological problem. The value crisis of liberal democracy, however, despite appearing in ballot boxes, is an internal human crisis.This leads me to the UN, which is the incarnation of personal through politics at the highest forum of human co-operation. To function well, it requires courage and compromise. A compromise for the present that will create a better and lasting future for the generations to come.

Happy UN Day!

Thank you.