Albares meets Albanian counterpart to reaffirm good bilateral relations and discuss EU enlargement

Meeting in Madrid between the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and his Albanian counterpart, Igli Hasani

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today received his Albanian counterpart, Igli Hasani, in Madrid, with whom he was able to review Albania's progress in its candidacy to join the EU. During the meeting, they also discussed the future UNED campus in Gjirokastra, which together with the College of Europe will be the first non-Albanian European university campus to open in Albania.

At the meeting, Albares reiterated Spain's full support for Albania's efforts to become one of the leading candidate countries in the EU enlargement process, and congratulated his counterpart on the progress made over the last year on its path towards the EU.

The EU's growth plan for the Western Balkans, the inauguration of the NATO base in Kuçova, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the current conflict in the Middle East were among the other issues discussed during the meeting.

UNED Campus

Albares and Hasani also had the opportunity to review bilateral relations between the two countries, highlighting in particular the project to create a UNED campus in 2024 in the city of Gjirokastra, which together with the College of Europe will be the first non-Albanian European university campus to be inaugurated in the country, probably in the coming months.

Cultural and scientific relations have, in fact, improved significantly over the last decade, as shown by the presence of the Spanish language in the Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Tirana, and the signing during the meeting of the ministers of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Diplomatic Schools of the two countries.

Non official translation