President Bajram Begaj addressed this Monday a message to the Assembly of the Republic of Albania, on the occasion of the opening of the 2023-2024 parliamentary session.
In his message, the Head of State wished the Members of Parliament a good start to the new parliamentary session, President Begaj expresses his appreciation for the work and initiatives of the parliament, in the majority or opposition, and underlines that the opening of this session finds Albania facing challenges for the resolution of which the Assembly has a essential role.
Focusing on the quality of the political dialogue, President Begaj assesses that the quality of the exchange of ideas between the political wings, as well as the involvement in constructive discussions, unfortunately still leaves a lot to be desired. “I want to convey to you the request of our citizens, who need to see and hear you discuss their present and future, without wasting time with the personalization of debates and mutual insults, these scenes that they disappoint them, make them pessimistic and distance them from politics”, says President Begaj.
The Head of State stated in his message: “My call is simple: return the Assembly to the space of reconciliation and the place of constructive debates, where different professionals, media, students, civil society, diaspora and representatives of different social strata and of national minorities, want to be involved in order to give a strong impetus to the reforms for the European integration and the socio-economic development of the country”.
Meanwhile, the President considers the emigration of young people and well-educated and well-qualified citizens to be a serious problem. Legal initiatives must be undertaken for a sustainable development in the priority areas and in the strategic sectors of the country’s economy, not only meeting the current needs of society, but also taking into consideration the future generations.
“The promotion of inclusive economic growth, in order to benefit all Albanians, requires fair competition, acceptable prices, quality services and well-educated and well-qualified personnel”, says the President in his message.
According to the Head of State, to the problems of economic development or the non-utilization of territorial potential in some areas, there are also problems with the educational system, health, as well as administrative and social services.
Health remains in search of the path of sustainable development that begins with the timely and quality provision of services to citizens, the assessment of the figure of the doctor and nurse, as well as with the infrastructure and quality of medical facilities.
Education has made significant improvements at several levels, but there is now an urgent need to improve the teaching of the mother tongue in public schools or private institutions. For the Head of State, Albanian education needs continuous policies to support the quality of teaching and pupils, students and academics. “The assembly with the involvement of all parties should turn the issue of the level of education and scientific research into a national priority.”
Gender equality is also an important issue at the national level. While at the level of representation, the public sector has taken positive steps, the improvement of legislation for gender equality has not changed the situation of women in economic difficulties, and mistreatment and violence remain present.
In his message, President Begaj also mentions the freedom of the media, which has an essential role in a democratic state, so journalists must have every opportunity to report freely, both the work of public bodies and the problems of citizens.
Focusing on justice, President Begaj states that: The results of the reform in justice are visible and it is imperative that all political forces and their representatives in the Parliament of Albania unanimously provide support for the progress of this reform that puts the word epilogue to the transition and marks a clear dividing line between the past and the future.
The rule of law and the fight against corruption should not only be a matter of law enforcement agencies, but should be fundamentally supported by the Assembly through initiatives aimed at identifying, preventing and punishing corrupt phenomena that deprive the granting and guaranteeing of the basic rights of citizens and businesses .
President Begaj’s attention in the message addressed to the Assembly also includes security challenges, where he singles out cyber security.
“Repeated attacks have shown that we are still vulnerable to hybrid warfare and border protection in digital systems. I invite you to review and draft strategic documents, such as the National Cyber Security Strategy, as well as to adopt concrete acts to guarantee security and the protection of national values and interests”, he underlined.
/abcnews.al
