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Today is the second day of the “Open Balkans” summit in Ohrid. Prime Minister Edi Rama during his speech at the summit said that after the war in Ukraine this initiative is now a necessity. Rama stressed that the summit is being convened for the first time since the start of the war.
The Prime Minister focused on the presence of Ambassador Cris Hill who has served in Tirana in a dramatic time of transformation from dictatorship to democracy as a sign of support for the Open Balkans.
“This is an opportunity to talk about the Open Balkans as in the Open Balkans. We can not come to an Open Balkans meeting and talk as we are used to when we go to Brussels. We need to speak very openly and we need to preserve and strengthen this characteristic of this region without fear that by speaking openly we may have more problems.
We are meeting today for the first time at an Open Balkans summit since the war in Ukraine began. I want to tell everyone that the war in Ukraine makes the Open Balkans an even greater necessity than it was before. Last night I had the opportunity to meet here on the eve of the Open Balkans, Ambassador Cris Hill, a profound connoisseur of the region, who served in Tirana in a dramatic time of transformation from dictatorship to democracy and today serves in Belgrade.
I believe that Ambassador Cris Hill with his presence here is one of the most credible witnesses to the necessity of the Open Balkans. He is here to support an open Balkans. For me it is very encouraging.
I am very happy that the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritani, and Zoran from Bosnia (Zoran Tegeltija, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina) are here with us today, just as I am happy that two friends of importantly, Commissioner Varhelyi and our friend Escobar who is acceptable through the screen. The Open Balkans is important for our people, for the common space in which our children are born and tomorrow our children will take the fate of our hands into their own hands.
Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are participating in the Open Balkan summit for the first time, while Kosovo is missing this time as well. Oliver Varhelyi, the EC Commissioner for Enlargement, is also present at the Ohrid summit, while it is learned that the US envoy, Gabriel Escobar, will also participate online.
/abcnews.al
