Speech of Minister Bushati at meeting with Albanian Diaspora in Boston,

at Harvard University, 

18 September 2016

 

Hello everybody,

I would like to thank you for being here on a Sunday and of course to thank the Centre for International Development at Harvard University, and its tireless fellows, for hosting us.

This morning I had the chance to meet young Albanians – and their parents – doing their Albanian classes at the University of Massachusetts and I later joined our compatriots during the Sunday service at Saint George’s Cathedral which is obviously an Albanian Landmark in the US.

While contributing to the prosperity of the United States, Albanians have also preserved their identity by establishing schools, churches, cultural centers, newspapers, youth, women’s and professional organizations. I am proud to say that there is also a little bit of Albania in the greatest country in the world.

Boston feels like a second home. Firstly, because part of my family lives here and secondly, because of Boston Albanians’ precious contribution for the Albanian national cause, the protection of individual and national rights as well as for the economic development of our country.

Because the founding fathers of the Albanian modern state, some of whom where members of the Boston diaspora, knew all too well that political independence could not be sustained without economic development.

Albania has come a long way in the last quarter of a century towards building a democratic and open society. It has not been an easy path and we are still far behind what we all expected back in the ’90’s.

Our Diaspora’s contribution has been immense over the past 25 years. Let’s not forget that 10 years ago, remittances were one of the main contributors to Albania’s GDP, up to almost 8%.

We have one of the largest Diasporas in the world relative to our population. From a policy perspective, this means not only greater responsibility to provide better, safer and more transparent services to Albanians abroad, but also, making sound policies that engage in an meaningful way the Diaspora in the development process of the country.

In the past, this tremendous contribution developed only through private initiatives while the role of the state was largely passive.

We have started to reverse this trend and now would like to forge a structured partnership whereby the Albanian state facilitates and creates the optimal conditions for diaspora to participate in the development of the country.

A part of it has to do with how Albania interacts and how appealing it is to its citizens abroad. I’ll give you an example: in a digitalised world, citizens abroad expect more from a Foreign Minister. That is why we have invested a lot over the past three years in order to:

–      modernise our consular infrastructure

–      introduce new technologies in order to make the digital turn in consular services

–      provide more, safe and cost-effective services to Albanian citizens, wherever they are.

I could mention the newest MFA e-product “E-Consulate”, an application which aims at providing services to all Albanian citizens within and outside Albania. It is only the preview of a bigger project that we are developing in the context of digital diplomacy.

We want our relation with the diaspora to remain at the core of our policy making. We have worked with IOM to put together a strategy about diaspora involvement in economic development, through science and education but also through supporting entrepreneurship.

This document is the result of dozens of consultations and surveys over the past year and a half in a handful of countries where we have large Albanian communities such as in Italy, Greece and the US.

The first step towards implementing the strategy will be the 1st ever Summit of Albanian Diaspora, to be held in Tirana in November this year.

So I would like invite the Boston Albanians to join diaspora representatives from more than 38 countries to participate and engage in this unprecedented event.

I am hopeful that it will mark a new chapter in our relations where we can become actors of change in a new meaningful way.

I am convinced, and History has proven this to be right, that without the quality and dedication of its diaspora – without its transformative effect – Albania wouldn’t always have been able to make the right choices at the right time.

Thank you again for this warm welcome and I look forward to meeting you in November, in Tirana.

Thank you !