SPEECH BY H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF MALTA AT STATE DINNER ON THE OCCASION OF THE STATE VISIT OF H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA – THE PALACE, VALLETTA – MONDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2001

Eccellenza.

Nilqghek f’dan il-Palazz bhala Kap ta’ Stat ta’ pajjiz habib u vicin.

[Your Excellency.

I greet you in this Palace as a Head of State of a neighbouring and friendly country]

May I express to you, Excellency and dear friend, my desire that you feel at home here in Malta as much as I did feel in your country, during my State Visit in December 2000. This Visit underlines the very good political ties between Malta and Albania, as well as the sincere bond of friendship and understanding between our peoples.

Excellency, I have been a visitor to your country since March 1991. I first came to your country as President of the United Nations General Assembly, to witness the dawn of democracy for a people who wanted to assert this basic need for liberty which had long been suppressed. Albania has been described as the land of the eagles – a proud race that through history has preserved its national identity and its historic relevance. Your national hero, Skanderbeg, epitomises the logic of defiance against superior forces in defence of those values considered to be the heritage of European culture.

I have had the privilege of visiting your country on other occasions too. Albania has struggled not only to maintain its democracy but also, in spite of major difficulties, to move forward in its economy. Through trials and tribulations, the Albanian people has shown its determination and commitment to face the future.

In a world where frontiers and barriers are constantly giving way to more open and competitive realities, we acknowledge the need to ready ourselves to face change and the challenges that it entails. Today, we are living in a new international political and economic landscape. This demands of us new thinking and closer networking – and I believe that our countries are positively seeking to accomplish our shared responsibilities.

Excellency,

Your country has demonstrated a steadfast will to proceed on the path of stability and moderation – both in domestic politics and in international affairs. This is no mean feat considering the decade of war, destabilisation and adversity that swept the whole of the Balkans.

We were all witnesses to the tragedy which extreme political and nationalist views led to, in your region. Albania has demonstrated restraint and moderation throughout such difficult times. This has made of your country a determining factor in ensuring that further complex issues were not needlessly fanned for the sake of short-term political considerations. In this respect, your endeavours lend credibility to your efforts aimed at achieving long-term stability in South Eastern Europe.

Stability and security are buttressed by socio-economic developments. The evolution of the European Union, born of the ruins of two catastrophic world wars, attests to this statement. The reconstruction of the Balkans and their integration into the structures and guarantees of the European Union will be fundamental for the wider security on the continent.

Within a stable and prosperous Europe, you seek your future. The Government of Malta also believes that our future lies within the fold of the European Union. In following the goal of membership of the European Union, Malta has already closed twenty chapters of the acquis and is confident of concluding negotiations by the end of this year. The people of Malta will then have the opportunity to express their sovereign democratic will as to the future course our nation will pursue.

You are also a Mediterranean State that has a direct interest in the developments that border this Sea. We in Malta have long advocated policies that are mutually beneficial for Europe and the Mediterranean region. In our globalised world, strong disparities in opportunities and standards of living between relatively neighbouring countries and regions could spread an undesired state of uncertainty.

Hence the need to give the Mediterranean region its due share of importance in the international agenda. It is my belief that here lie the solutions to fundamental problems haunting the security of the international community. How can we make of this Sea an element of convergence among peoples and cultures as opposed to the actual and perceived divides that it embodies today? Malta has a long-standing commitment of encouraging and enhancing dialogue between the northern and southern littorals of the Mediterranean. We believe that this dialogue is even more important today, post September 11th.

Fundamental to the success or otherwise of this dialogue are the complex problems between Israel and the Palestinians which for five decades and more have made of this region an area of torment and terror, of occupation and humiliation. Malta supports efforts that can lead to a just solution of the conflict in the Middle East. Extremism, in any form or expression, is an obstacle to peace. And unless the Peace Process is put again back on track, recrimination and revenge will drown further the voices of moderation and compromise. This demands courage of all the parties involved – indeed, the Peace of the Brave. This also demands that the international community take its responsibility in ensuring that pertinent United Nations Security Council resolutions be fully implemented and observed.

We are, Excellency, in the Grand Council Chamber, one of the most prestigious of the Presidential Palace. We are surrounded by 400-year old frescoes depicting the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights of the Order of St John, together with the Maltese population, withstood the onslaught of the aggressor. A century before this event, Georg Kastriota Skanderbeg had likewise successfully resisted the Ottoman aggressor.

Today, this history forms part of our common and shared Euro-Mediterranean heritage.

Today, we strive to make of the Mediterranean, no longer a sea of struggle and conflict, but a region of stability and concord.

Today, it is an appropriate setting to welcome you as the Head of State of a neighbouring country with whom we share ideals, hopes and aspirations for a prosperous future rooted in peace.

With these thoughts, I ask you, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, to raise your glasses and toast to the health of President Rexhep Meidani and Mrs Meidani, and to the friendship and cooperation between the people of Malta and Albania.