“Peace, Stability, and Development in the Balkans – Türkiye-Albania Relations” Panel

The panel on “Peace, Stability, and Development in the Balkans – Türkiye-Albania Relations” was organized today by the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of Türkiye with the participation of representatives of Turkish institutions in Albania and researchers at the premises of the University of New York Tirana.

In this event, we were honored with the participation of the Ambassador of Türkiye in Albania, H.E Murat Ahmet Yorük, the Chairman of the Public Diplomacy Department of the Communications Directorate of the Presidency of Türkiye, Oğuz Güner, scholars, and journalists from Albania and Türkiye, as well as representatives of civil society organizations.

The panel discussed prospective areas of cooperation between the two countries, as well as developments in the Balkans, Türkiye’s Balkan policy, economic cooperation, and both countries’ contributions to Balkan stability on a more advanced level.

The Turkish ambassador emphasized that these relations have been established over the centuries and added that “we have developed these relations in such a natural way”.

The former ambassador of Albania to Türkiye, Genti Gazheli, who is currently the General Director of the Albanian Customs, speaking about Turkish companies in Albania, said that the cooperation between the two countries is based on a rich legal framework. Gazheli mentioned that in the strategic partnership statement signed a year ago between President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Rama, one of the agreed points is the intensification of cooperation between our respective customs administrations.

Prof. Assoc. Dr. Lindita Xhanari Latifi, director of the Institute of Balkan Studies at the University of New York Tirana, said that the institute she leads has clear objectives for the realization of closer scientific collaborations with the archives of both countries, with scientific institutions and Turkish universities.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Basri Yalçın, an academic at Istanbul Ticaret University, stressed that he considers Türkiye-Albania relations special and according to him Türkiye is a very good friend of Albania.

Assoc. Dr. Aylin Ünver Noi, an academic at Halic University, said in her speech that Albania and Türkiye traditionally have friendly relations and historical and religious factors contribute to this long-term relationship.

Moderator Çetin said that this activity is organized on the eve of the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Albania.

The panel addressed issues such as potential areas of cooperation between the two countries, developments in the Balkans, Türkiye’s policy on the Balkans, economic cooperation, and the contribution of both countries to stability in the Balkans, and the panel aims to raise Türkiye-Albania relations to a higher level.