Erdoğan speaks at joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Rama

President Erdoğan and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama held a joint press conference following the "First Meeting of the Turkey-Albania High-Level Cooperation Council" at the Presidential Complex and the signing ceremony of agreements between the two countries.

Speaking there, Erdoğan expressed his pleasure in hosting Rama and his delegation in Ankara for the first meeting of the Turkey-Albania High-Level Cooperation Council.

EMPHASIS ON COOPERATION

Recalling that the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Albania was marked last year, Erdoğan noted that multifaceted cooperation continues to develop on the basis of the strategic partnership they declared with Rama in Ankara in 2021.

Stating that the determination to carry relations to higher levels was reaffirmed with the first meeting of the council held today, Erdoğan conveyed that during the talks, he once again emphasized the importance Turkey attaches to Albania's development and its support for increasing the prosperity of the Albanian people.

MORE THAN 15 THOUSAND ALBANIAN CITIZENS WILL BE PROVIDED EMPLOYMENT

President Erdoğan pointed out that the legal basis for cooperation has been further strengthened with the signed agreements and spoke as follows:

"We have increased our trade volume to the 1 billion dollar level, and we have set our new target as 2 billion dollars. I believe that with the efforts of our private sector, we will reach this figure in a short time. Turkey is among the top 5 foreign investors in Albania with its investments reaching 3.5 billion dollars. More than 600 Turkish companies are supporting the country's economy by providing employment to more than 15 thousand Albanian citizens. We will continue to work to increase our mutual investments and further develop the ties between our business circles. Our support for projects aimed at Albania's development through TİKA will continue."

President Erdoğan underlined that the agreement signed regarding the status of TİKA's Tirana Coordination Office will add strength to the cooperation in this field.

"WE SEE THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS FACT"

Reminding that at the press conference held in Ankara in January 2021 with Prime Minister Rama, they gave the good news and promise that Turkey would build a hospital in Albania within 3 months, Erdoğan said, "We even made a bet with Mr. Rama on this matter. Thank God, we kept our word and built our Fier Friendship Hospital in a record time of 3 months. We will continue to operate this hospital together, where patients coming from every region of Albania find healing."

Stating that they will continue to stand by the Albanian people in their good and bad days as they have until now, Erdoğan continued as follows:

"We know the Prime Minister's sensitivity regarding the fight against FETÖ, and we appreciate it. We will not allow this network of evil, which tries every way and method to poison our relations, to achieve its goal. We see that the Albanian authorities are also aware of this fact. We will continue our fight against the organization within the framework of mutual understanding. We are grateful to the Prime Minister for his contributions to the activities of the Turkish Maarif Foundation, which currently provides educational services to 2 thousand students. We believe that this support will continue to increase in the coming period."

"WE WILL CONTINUE OUR DIALOGUE REGARDING THE BALKANS"

Stating that they exchanged views with Prime Minister Rama about developments in the region and the world, Erdoğan said, "Turkey and Albania are two NATO allies that contribute to the preservation of peace and stability in the Balkans. We will continue our dialogue regarding the Balkans with Albania by intensifying it."

Erdoğan expressed their desire to deepen the close cooperation with Albania in the defense industry and military field, saying that the signed Military Framework Agreement is the most concrete manifestation of this will.

Congratulating Albania for its successful 2022-2023 term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Erdoğan said, "Albania will make significant contributions to the activities of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, whose term presidency it took over from Turkey."

THE ISSUE OF ISRAEL

Stating his belief that Albania will also successfully carry out the South-East European Cooperation Process Term Presidency, which it will assume in July, Erdoğan noted the following:

"In our meetings, we also discussed the Israeli oppression in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza. The responsibilities of the international community are clear regarding stopping the cruelty of Israel that has been going on for more than 4 months and ensuring the safe and prosperous future of our Palestinian brothers. The processes followed both at the International Court of Justice and at the United Nations have clearly revealed our rightful stance on this issue. Albania has stood on the right side of history with its stance in the voting held at the United Nations General Assembly in December. The solidarity Albania has shown with the oppressed Palestinian people during this period is very important and valuable. We will continue our contact with my friend Rama within the scope of the initiatives to be taken in the coming period."

Wishing that the decisions taken at the council meeting and the signed agreements would be auspicious, Erdoğan thanked Prime Minister Rama for his unique contributions to reaching the current excellent level of Turkey-Albania relations.

Wishing that the unity and solidarity between the two countries would be eternal, Erdoğan thanked Rama and his delegation for their visit.

News Source: AA