Dear Paolo,

Dear colleagues, Ministers,

Honorable representatives of the diplomatic corps,

Honorable ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions of Albania,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!

Today, unlike other times, I would like to begin my speech with a story from the distant 1997. Perhaps few people know, but the MFA owned a building located in Gramsh, where significant part of the unique Albanian state archives was held. The Ypsilon building, as it was called back in ’97, came under attack, jeopardizing the entire archive and consequently the memory of this institution and the state itself.

The then Director of Archives, using those few standing structures, accompanied by some military forces, managed to transfer overnight all the unique archive from the Ypsilon building to the MFA. Nevertheless, saving the archive was not enough; we needed to know how to properly preserve it in suitable conditions for such secular national asset.

Years later, when our country was negotiating a number of international agreements, it came across the difficulty to make use of historical documents from the archives. The serious consequences for our foreign policy and national security are understandable.

With this, I want to show what a country can come across when its institutional memory is perished. The country itself perishes. Therefore, recently, we have been able to successfully make a significant investment in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thus allowing this Ministry to regain its memory and not suffer from institutional amnesia.

By radically improving the conditions of maintenance and access to archives, we have transformed it into:

– A meeting point for researchers and policymakers,

– A mirror in which we see our mistakes, respect tradition, experience and outline future solutions.

For our society, which aims to continue on the path of democratic state-consolidation, preserving institutional memory is not a luxury, but an obligation.

 

Ladies and gentleman,

This year’s Ambassadors Conference comes at a time when the global situation continues to be volatile and the European security architecture faces challenges in its eastern and southern flank.

Sixty-six years from its establishment, the European Union in many instances resembles a crisis management unit:

The latest crisis is Brexit, where we noted, as Jurgen Habermas would say, that “identity populism won over liberal capitalism”

The most widespread is the democratic crisis, rooted in populism and technocracy, in the superiority of the intergovernmental method versus the communitarian, expanding thus not only the gap between west and east but also north and south of Europe, turning the model of welfare state into a history of the past.

The financial crisis of the Eurozone, differences and the yet unclear relationship with Russia based on clear rules in terms of international order, violent extremism, terrorism, largest migratory wave since World War II followed by politics of fear and panic and a closure reflex: all these are posing a challenge to integration, developmental and communication capabilities of the European Union.

Today, a shadow of doubt is cast over the EU, on whether internal divisions are superficial or tectonic cracks, caused not only by the ‘enlargement fatigue’ but also by the “exhaustion from prolonged crises”.

If the financial crisis highlighted north-south divisions, endorsed by “financial constraints” or “economic stimulus” dichotomy, the migratory wave unfolded the contrast between the diversion of Western Europe societies and homogeneity of Eastern societies.

The EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, recently introduced by High Representative Federica Mogherini, seems to have come at the right moment.

Firstly, it recognizes the limits of EU soft power and outlines a more muscular approach with the involvement of defense and security instruments. Secondly, it defines the need to reinforce cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans on regional order security. I would like to underscore this, for it is important not to turn the Balkans into another act of “European drama”.

The recent NATO summit in Warsaw was a successful summit for Albania, as it confirmed once again the importance of our region to the European security architecture.

This is undoubtedly a confirmation of the fact that the specific weight of the United States in the region continues to constitute a success story in the Euro-Atlantic context, both in terms of consolidation of the rule of law as well as from a security standpoint.

Another significant example is the new opportunity provided for Kosovo, as a country that deserves to be partner of the Alliance, relations with which should be institutionalized.

 

Ladies and gentleman,

I made this brief overview to shed light on the variety of topics encompassed in today’s field of international relations and their consequences in this corner of Europe.

This range of problems requires an external service that goes beyond traditional policymaking boundaries.

Classical pillars of foreign policy drafting, conception, formulation and implementation, are not enough for a modern foreign service.

Hence, to face current challenges, I believe that it is necessary to have:

– An MFA at the center of good governance

-An MFA to serve as a center of excellence for foreign policy, by making use of modern communication technologies,

– An MFA which offers contemporary service to citizens in real time.

 

Our mission is doubly complicated:

– On one hand, foreign policy requires consensus within the country, which is complicated by the presence of many actors who influence it.

– On the other hand, it is necessary to reach a consensus abroad, for the prospect of the country and the region, which is difficult due to the shifted attention from the enlargement process.

Meanwhile, the MFA’s responsibilities are increasing. Let us not forget that 1/3 of Albanians live abroad.

This does not merely imply responsibility to provide consular services that reflect quality and transparency but also revival of policies that include the Diaspora, this yet untapped asset, in the development process of the country.

In a digitized world, citizens expect better services from us. This requirement is not a wish, but rather the fulfillment of constitutional obligations to provide services to Albanian citizens, wherever they are.

Our response to abuse and apathy is to invest in high technology, namely the digitization of consular services and the creation of supporting applications, such as the consular application, to be launched this year in autumn.

While drafting foreign policies has been and remains the core of our mission, the consular element has acquired new dimensions, especially in the context of a digitized and interconnected world. Our action in the consular section is oriented towards:

– The improvement of infrastructure;

– Efficiency and

– The increase of the range of consular services.

The MFA Consular Service in recent years has dealt with an ever-increasing workflow. I will give you some figures, to better understand the range of actions:

– Each year around half million legalizations (430.000) are carried out, and this figure is increasing;

– Also, in 2015, compared to 2014, the number of consular operations has doubled;

Our response to increased requests and flow of consular activity has been immediate. We have increased the number of consular services by introducing the possibility to issue certificates on the spot, in Italy. Italy’s successful practice will also apply to other countries with large concentration of Albanians.

With the same staff, we have managed to offer additional civil state services, thus expanding the range of services and increasing efficiency at work. We have reduced or zeroed fees for a range of consular services, essential to our citizens.

 

* * *

When I took office:

– The building had more space for parking cars than for books and historical documents or thousands of documents that this service produces each month,

– I found an institution shrunk in its shell, where often memos and cablegrams were used as a means to promote relevant party interests,

– I found a foreign service that was a sandcastle, with open embassies in paper but non-existent in practice.

Hence, there was an immediate need for a change in mentality, consisting of one side in rationalizing the Foreign Service and on the other, in opening the institution to include a larger number of actors who provide their contribution to foreign policy.

Initiated in 2014 thanks to the valuable German expertise, the rationalization process began with the assessment phase of our resources, which gave us the opportunity to make a rational redistribution of human and financial resources in view of priorities and national interests.

At the same time, the establishment of the Centre of Excellence as an organic unit at the MFA is the best indicator of the opening of our institution and strengthening of our diplomats’ capacity building. In just a year and a half, we have endorsed the most prominent international expertise in over 60 training activities, ranging from consular services to the most effective tools of public diplomacy.

Prime Minister Rama has invested his full confidence in the reform process. Thanks to his generous support, investments at the MFA in infrastructure, technology and human resources have quadrupled in just one year.

These investments have gone hand in hand with increased transparency on part of Albanian diplomatic missions abroad, by “debunkerizing” and positioning them at the center of Albanian community activities.

 

Dear friends,

We often think that diplomats are a privileged cast living in the comfort of embassies, working part-time.

Diplomats are actually a group of devoted people who work behind the scenes, and are the only ones who are happy when their work is not news in the press, unlike politicians. I am referring of course to crisis management.

Few people know about the rescue of a family from Yemen, or repatriation of our citizens from hot spots in Pakistan and Syria. But of course we remember the case of the “Norman Atlantic” ferry, where foreign service played a crucial role in the successful solution of this crisis, by also providing assistance to allied and partner countries’ services.

In today’s world, however interconnected, however digitized, nothing can replace a professional and dedicated diplomat. In this profession, machines cannot replace humans.

In this context, the new legal package has started to address the very challenges the foreign service staff are facing:

-to bring to an end the overthrown pyramid system of diplomatic ranks;

-to re-establish professionalism at the center of human resources policies;

-to establish merit based values at the fundament of the foreign service through competitive entrance procedures and other tests of promotion to higher ranks.

– to offer the Ambassador’s position to the talented people putting an end to partisan quotas’ practice”.

This approach has allowed us to recruit diplomats with special skills and capacities, who speak rare languages ​​and are experts in different cultures.

Thanks to the Centre of Excellence, we have enabled a dynamic internship program at the MFA. Around 250 young people have benefited from the experience of working at the MFA, proving that the job of a diplomat remains attractive despite difficulties. I am encouraged by their impressive ability to analyze and understand the delicate issues of foreign policy.

 

Ladies and gentleman,

I do not want to linger on to those things that have been accomplished; because at the end, they are still few compared to challenges that await us. Being an open institution is not enough!

A well-known diplomatic saying states that: “A nation which is simply reactive in its foreign policy is a nation in free fall.”

Our strategic goal remains that of an Albania member of the European Union, with a dynamic economy in the Adriatic Europe space and reliable ally within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic community.

But while achieving this goal seems to have become an obstacle race, often and unfortunately internal, we must not forget that the Foreign Service is the main instrument for overcoming them.

 

We are expected to:

– Provide solution to inherited problems with neighbors,

– Provide solution to problems of Albanians in the world,

– Improve our image in a world increasingly oriented by perceptions.

All these, by fulfilling long-term objectives of foreign policy:

– To be stability and peace factors in this corner of Europe,

– To protect and promote the rights of all Albanians in the region,

– To consider the Diaspora as an indispensable partner, not only in the economic development of the country but also in properly representing Albanian values ​​in the world.

 

Dear friends,

Albania has supported and welcomed the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of regional countries with a view to enhance regional security and further reduce “gray areas” of security around us.

Surely, there are third actors in our region which seek to implement their own interests – hence, for the first time, this conference will have a special panel addressing this issue. Albania does not see their role as threat but as complementary to the action of the US and the EU, as long as the region remains oriented towards the European project and the transatlantic alliance.

All fluctuations in the geopolitics’ barometer are also echoed in our region. Geographically worthy to be called a region, the Adriatic Europe is yet not one in political, economic, development and security terms.

The region’s fear following the British referendum is understandable:

Fear of marginalization

Fear of perceiving the enlargement as a secondary issue,

Fear that other referendums will further constrain the EU’s capacity to act as a union.

Crises of the rule of law and frozen democratic processes in our region are clear examples of what can happen when the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective is not tangible.

The Berlin Process, initiated by Chancellor Merkel in 2014, brought the entire region out of its comfort zone.

Through this process, we went from the stage of the stability pact, to that of infrastructure and energy interconnection, where all countries cooperate and compete for more projects and funding.

Albania has been a forerunner in this process, benefiting not only from the adoption and financing of infrastructural projects but also through the two regional initiatives to be headquartered in Tirana, the Western Balkans Fund and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office.

The recent summit in Paris showed that it is up to us to create conditions and instruments for our success as a region. One such instrument is the “Tirana Initiative”, which is being launched today as a follow-up of the three summits Berlin-Vienna-Paris and in preparation of the upcoming summit in Rome next year.

This initiative will serve as a platform:

–  to monitor the progress of the Berlin Process as catalyst of the European integration process;

–  to enrich the agenda of regional cooperation by including security and issues dealing with the rule of law;

–  to facilitate coordination with civil society, business community and academic world

– to transform the current interdependence of the Adriatic Europe with the EU into a process where democratization is successfully concluded and in which the EU can capitalize its long-term investment in the region.

I hope that with your help, dear Paolo, this initiative will be transformed into a center of internal and external consensus on major issues concerning our region.

Thank you!