 The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, and his wife, Barbara Mikliè Türk, met the President of the Republic of Albania, Dr Bamir Topi, and his wife, Teuta Topi, who arrived on a two-day official visit to Slovenia. After a reception ceremony with military honours and a short talk between the two presidential couples, President Türk and President Topi had a têtê-à-têtê meeting, followed by plenary talks between the delegation of the Republic of Slovenia and the delegation of the Republic of Albania, led, respectively, by both presidents. |
 In his introduction, the Slovenian President mentioned that he had visited Albania in February of this year. In his view, the return visit by the Albanian President in the very same year is indicative of the high quality of bilateral relations and the desire of both sides to further develop these relations.
President Türk stressed that Albania is among the most dynamic European countries, in both economic and political development; he also highlighted the traditional positive role of Albania in the region. He expressed the wish for political dialogue and economic cooperation to develop as intensively as possible, and the opening of the Slovenian Embassy in Tirana in the near future will certainly contribute to this development. |
 President Topi assessed bilateral relations as excellent and the political dialogue as genuine and friendly. He also highlighted the similar positions of the two countries on issues in the region and good cooperation within multilateral organisations. He thanked President Türk for Slovenia’s support of Albania’s efforts to join Euro-Atlantic structures. Dr Türk then expressed Slovenia's readiness to help Albania in introducing visa liberalisation with regard to the European Union and assured Slovenia's support of Albania’s EU membership in every respect.
President Türk said that in spite of the economic crisis the trade exchange between the two countries grew by 9% in the first half of 2009, which is a good result. He, however, emphasised the need for closer cooperation in the areas of investment and tourism, because personal contacts are important for strengthening institutional cooperation. President Topi said that excellent political relations provide a good basis for the development of economic cooperation and also pointed to the importance of the connection between the ports of Durrës and Koper as well as the regular airline connection between Ljubljana and Tirana. |
 The Albanian President added that plenty of other open opportunities exist for cooperation in education, culture and tourism. Both presidents advocated better communication between Slovenian and Albanian institutions of higher education. President Türk also referred to Slovenia's interest in upgrading existing projects within the framework of bilateral development cooperation and the joint candidature of the two countries for European funds.
The two presidents also discussed the issue of institutional reform being carried out in Albania. President Topi emphasised that institutional stability and political dialogue exist in Albania and thus indicate that democracy is working. He added that in spite of some problems Albania remains committed to European integration and regional cooperation, and is making active efforts to strengthen the rule of law. |
 The presidents also touched on the issue of cooperation within the NATO Alliance. President Türk called upon both countries to participate in the discussions concerning the new strategic concept and future of NATO. He expressed his support of further Alliance enlargement and called for prompt drafting of a relevant action plan with regard to the membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Slovenian President, this would contribute to the stabilisation of the situation in the country and produce a positive effect in so far as the future integration of the rest of the countries in the region is concerned. President Topi agreed with this view and added that this issue could be put forth by the two countries on the occasion of the 6th Regional Economic Forum for South Eastern Europe, which will take place in mid-November in Sarajevo. |
 In addition, the two presidents exchanged views on the situation in the region, where President Türk highlighted the importance of respect of national sovereignty. Dr Türk stressed the importance of overcoming old ideologies of the "big countries" and Albania's role in the assertion of sovereignty and multi-ethnicity of countries with Albanian populations. He said that the sovereignty of Kosovo constitutes an element of stability in the Balkans and that the road to this goal leads through reinforcement of the institutions of the rule of law in Kosovo. President Topi expressed his attachment to the sovereignty of Kosovo. He said that in the past he was often asked by the media whether he was working toward the unification of Albania and Kosovo, which he denied by saying that in the future both countries would exist together within the NATO Alliance and the European Union framework. |