Message from CAA President, Mr. Besnik Mustafaj : The Council of Albanian Ambassadors is an independent and non-profit organization founded quite recently by a group of former Ambassadors following the similar models in democratic countries. In compliance with the Albanian law, this Council is an association open for membership to all those who are willing for and who satisfy the conditions specified in its Statute.
Members of the Council of Ambassadors maybe all those who have served at least a term as Ambassador of the Republic of Albania or who have been senior diplomats with leading functions for over five years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The former Foreign Ministers are also eligible for membership to this Council.
It is almost 28 years that Albania broke off with its past as a Stalinist regime, which kept it isolated from the world of freedom and democracy. Fur us this will remain the period of rectifying the major mistakes in our recent history.
Finally, our country joined the western values. International relations started from an entirely new level and embarked on the path of cooperation, solidarity and Euro-Atlantic integration. Albania is member of the Council of Europe, member of NATO and EU candidate member. Albanian citizens enjoy the right of the free movement without visas in Schengen space.
All surveys indicate that compared to other former communist countries, the Albanian society remains deeply pro-European with over 90% in support of its integration strategic goal.
Despite political rotation, this goal has always been the uniting point between the ruling majority and the opposition.
This period of time does also mark the affirmation of the Albanian diplomatic service, with an entirely new vision, open – minded, showing a firm commitment to the vital country’s interests and very capable of meeting the hard and dynamic challenges of integration. Within this service Ambassadors have certainly carried a special weight.
Because of age reasons but frequently due to political decisions by the governments in office, many of these personalities who have served with honor as high representatives of the Republic of Albania now find themselves outside the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nonetheless, this fact does not devaluate at all their rich and outstanding experience in the area of foreign policy and international relations; neither does it belittle their commitment to the country’s vital interests.
The Council of Albanian Ambassadors was established in order to place the valuable experience of these personalities to the service of irreversible EU integration process. We, former Ambassadors want just to be useful to our country, nothing more, and nothing less.
Certainly, each member of our Association has his/her own political preferences, which they have expressed and will continue to express as they wish on individual basis. However, the Council of Ambassadors will firmly stand over these personal preferences.
Both in its public and confidential stances, the Council will be guided only by national interests of the Albanian state, specifically related to foreign policy and international relations and on a wider scale to significant domestic developments.
The Council will maintain an appreciative attitude regarding achievements but it will be also critical when it comes to faults; it will be always cautious and consultative, suggesting the best solutions for the issues concerned.
The Council will have a wide – ranging field of activities. They will include analyses on Albania’s history in the field of international relations, with a view to re-assess the good traditions as well as insights on the daily developments, aimed at assisting the improvement of diplomatic practices and strategies of the Albanian state.
We express our readiness to build up a very good cooperation with all state institutions and with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in particular.
We would also like to use our expertize at the full disposal of the Diplomatic Academy attached to this Ministry in its course of diplomatic training.
Likewise, as a specific part of Albania’s civil society, this Council will support a sincere and lasting dialogue with diplomatic representations of friendly states and with delegations of international organizations accredited in Tirana. This dialogue could help our diplomatic guests and friends to know even better Albania and Albanians, their history, culture and aspirations.
The Council will establish without delay its contact with similar organizations in friendly states and will be engaged with all its capacities in joint events with them, to the benefit of our common goal of stepping up cooperation among our countries. Likewise, while attaching the priority to the EU, we shall take an active part in projects and programs of international organizations, destined both for Albania and the region, being confident that our contribution will be useful.
This occasion offers me the opportunity to extend the most heartfelt thanks to the Council of US Ambassadors in Washington DC, for having accompanied us from the very beginning of preparations to set up our organization.
We are deeply convinced that the foundations of a closer and sustainable cooperation among similar organization global wide are immense therefore, we are looking forward to make many valuable things together.
