The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, during her official visit to North Macedonia, participated in the US-Adriatic Charter (A5) Ministerial.

Minister Xhaçka emphasized that the USA-Adriatic Charter (A5) has served the process of Euro-Atlantic integration and the strengthening of regional cooperation in the field of security, as she underlined the need for further inclusiveness of the Charter, especially in the current situation of the region after Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

“At the same time, we underline the fact that in order to be fully successful, our Charter needs to fully respect its open-ended nature. This means the enlargement of the Charter with those countries from the region that are politically willing to adhere to our initiative. Since 2014, when Kosova officially applied to join the Charter, this has been a weak point in an otherwise very successful initiative. Thus, we believe that in order for our initiative to remain healthy and viable, we cannot allow it to remain hostage of blocking positions.” she said.

The Albanian chief diplomat underlined the need for increased regional cooperation aimed at energy security, describing the latter as an essential element of regional and national stability.

“Albania can make a significant contribution to the region’s and Europe’s energy supply diversification, helping to free it from reliance on Russia. We are fully convinced that the Western Balkans should follow the route of Euro-Atlantic integration as the right path for the Western Balkans. For continued democracy, institution building, and especially for bolstering the rule of law, European integration is crucial. These are essential values that Albania is resolved to uphold and defend, together with full respect for human and minority rights”, Minister Xhaçka added during her speech.

The work of the US-Adriatic Charter initiative (A5) was held in three different sessions, mainly focused on strengthening regional cooperation, support to Ukraine, as well as current security and economic challenges in the region.