Security Council, Xhaçka: Historical events for Albania, as even small countries can make changes in big issues

In her speech, Xhaçka said that even small countries can make a difference in big issues, because according to her, if she wants to have an impact on big issues, she should cooperate with other countries.

According to her, this mandate shows how far we have traveled and how much our country and our people have achieved. She stressed that throughout our preparations we all felt the historical dimension of this mandate.

“Thank you for joining us today. We are honored by your presence at this very special event for my country. For the first time, 66 years after becoming a member of the UN, Albania has the opportunity to sit in the UN Security Council. 66 years is a long time. A very long time! Throughout our preparations – as we selected the team that would represent us, as we discussed the priorities of our work in the council, as we discussed the thousands of details contained in this mandate – we all felt its historical dimension. This is certainly a big responsibility. This is undoubtedly a great privilege. But this is at the same time, a very special moment in the history of modern Albania. It shows how far we have traveled and how far our country and our people have come.

I remember when I first arrived in the United States about 25 years ago. My family and I lived in Massachusetts for a few years. I studied there. One of the things that stuck in my mind from those early years after my arrival was the sense of unease I felt whenever I was asked where I came from. There were those who had no knowledge and had never heard of Albania before. After all, why would an American child in Boston know about this small country somewhere in the Balkans that had just emerged from communism, poor and on the verge of collapse with hundreds of thousands fleeing in search of security and a better life well in Europe or wherever they could? But it was even worse when they knew where Albania was and if they knew what Albania was like in the early 1990s. Because honestly there was not much to feel proud of.

This was not just my experience. This was the experience of thousands of my fellow Albanians, who left the ruins of their country during that terrible period of our history. Not far from August last year, Albania opened its doors to several thousand vulnerable Afghans – civil society and women’s rights activists, doctors, teachers, artists, journalists, who had to leave the country. them out of fear for their lives and their families. I have met many of them. They reminded me so much of myself at the time, I want to mention here an expression used by the Prime Minister, I was one of the Afghans of Europe, fleeing my country in search of a better life elsewhere. It was precisely this reflection that made me realize how far Albania has come. How different is the place today from the place I had to leave behind when I was a kid.

We have overcome tyranny, we have overcome collapse. We have overcome poverty and conflict. We have seen the region, our brothers and our neighbors devastated by the war. But many things have changed since then. Albania is already a modern democratic country, with the highest representation of women in government. A country with a growing economy and ready to open negotiations with the European Union. It is a pillar of stability in the region and a conduit for security, playing a crucial role in consolidating peace and co-operation in the Western Balkans. Honestly, there is a lot to be proud of. With all this in mind I say that being on the Security Council is a very special moment in the history of modern Albania. It shows how far we have come and how far our country and our people have come.

And it is precisely the experience of this process that I think will be Albania’s most significant contribution to the Security Council and in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. We may be different from the surface of states or the population and size of our economies, but when it comes to principles, what works and what does not, what is right and what is wrong, size does not matter. We have come to the Council being realistic about what a small country can achieve. But at the same time, we come to the Council with the optimism that even small countries can have an impact on issues such as Women, Peace and Security, Combating Violent Extremism, Human Rights and International Law, Climate Change and Security or increase the transparency and efficiency of cooperation between nations in the Security Council.

In these endeavors, we know that alone we can achieve nothing. The only way to have an impact on the issues that concern the world today, is to work closely together, with all countries with the same views. Trying to find common ground, what unites us even when there are many areas in which we do not think alike. We have been surprised over the past year how many countries have expressed willingness and desire to work together. And that’s exactly what we want to do: work together. To create synergy and turn our presence on the Security Council into a relay transition segment where a country takes these issues where its predecessor on the Council has left them and hands over the dossier to those who come to the Council after them, when you mandate ends. This is our vision. This is our hope. And hopefully we will have the opportunity to work together as many of you as possible for the sake of a better world.

Finally, let me thank you all for your presence today and for the support you have shown. We are very grateful for our friendship and cooperation. Now I would like to give the floor to the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, whose motto “Presidency for Hope” has worked best and has been a motivation, despite the various challenges that have knocked on the door. , demanding immediate attention. Albania is ready to work with you. Thank you also for your important and successful initiative “equality in vaccine distribution”, a welcome call for more solidarity across the globe. The word for you Mr. “Shahid, President of the General Assembly”, said Xhaçka.

top channel