Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), 97-07-31

Albanian Telegraphic Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Home Page at <http://www.telpress.it/ata>

Albanian Telegraphic Agency

CONTENTS

[01] TURKISH PRESIDENT INVITES ALBANIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY

[02] PARLIAMENT APPROVES PERMANENT COMMISSIONS

[03] VLORE-IGUMENICE FERRY RESUMES OPERATION

[04] PRESS REVIEW

[05] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS HEAD OF U.S. DELEGATION IN ROME

[06] FROM THE PROGRAM OF NEW ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY BY PRIME MINISTRE FATOS NANO

[07] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT HOLDS TALKS WITH GERMAN AMBASSADOR

[08] PUTTING NEW LEADING RTSH COUNCIL ON PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA IS ANTICONSTITUTIONAL - director general-

[09] SEVERAL AMENDMENTS IN STATUTE OF RTSH ADOPTED

[10] AID OF GREEK GOVERNMENT FOR ALBANIAN POLICE

[11] OPENING ADDRESS OF ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA HELD IN ROME

[12] ALBANIAN SPEAKER MEETS AMBASSADORS OF FYROM AND GERMANY

[13] AD HOC COMMITTEE OF ITALIAN GOVERNMENT AIMS AT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESTORATION OF ALBANIA

[14] PREPARATORY MEETING FOR INTENATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA

[01] TURKISH PRESIDENT INVITES ALBANIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY

The Turkish President reconfirmed the aid of Turkey for the promotion of Albania in the road of democracy.

Demirel expressed the conviction that the relations between both countries will strengthen further more in the future.

Mejdani expressed his pleasure for the support that Turkey and the Turkish people are giving to Albania to overcome the difficulties and move forward to the road of democracy and national reconciliation. /s.sh/kei/mt/

[02] PARLIAMENT APPROVES PERMANENT COMMISSIONS

The Parliamentary Speaker Skender Gjinushi acquainted deputies with a proposal of the parliamentary presidency on a permanent functioning of the parliament through 13 commissions. They are: the commission of Human Rights; Regulation, Immunity and Mandates; Law; Foreign policy and Euro Atlantic integration; Economy, Finance and Privatisation; Defence; Law and Order, and National Information Service; Mass Media, Labour and Social problems; Agriculture and Food; Industry, Transport, Public Works and Trade; Education, Culture, Science and Sports, and Health and Environment Protection.

Most of the commissions are led by the Socialist deputies who represent the majority, but there are commissions like those of the Defence; Education, Culture, Science and Sports; Industry, Transport, Public Works and Trade which are led by the deputies of the Democratic party.

The Human Rights Commission is led by Vasil Melo, leader of the Human Rights Union party.

The plenary session approves in principle the creation of an "ad hoc" commission proposed by deputies Zyhdi Pepa and Pandeli Majko which will deal with social assistance for the disabled from the last months of turmoil. kei/ak/k

[03] VLORE-IGUMENICE FERRY RESUMES OPERATION

Some Albanian refugees who were turned backed to Albania by the Greek border police on board of the "Iliria Lines" ferry attacked and damaged part of it.

To help the numerous passengers from the city of Vlora who continue "to flood in" Greece, the officials of the Iliria Lines decided to resume operation within a short period.

Local police in the port of Vlora have tightened security and avoided any incident.

The chief of the police commissariat Haxhi Demiri said that t he port of was immediately put under police control after the withdrawal of Alba forces and an armoured carrier was deployed there. kei/ak/k

[04] PRESS REVIEW

The newspaper Rilindja Demokratike says "Justice in guillotine", and carries the editorial "Revanchism limited the days of government." On supplements to the law on transparency, the paper says "Second looting of Albanians approved." The paper also reports that the Socialists ask for usurping the Albanian Radio Television. It covers the press conference of the Democratic party regarding the program of the new government, saying: "Election platform and not program."

Republika says: "Earthquake in ministries," and "Brokaj (Defence minister) reduces the ranks of 24 generals." It carries the editorial "Who drops poison into the ear of Albanians?". Covering the meeting of Prime Minister Nano with his Italian counterpart Prodi in Rome on Wednesday, the paper says that no money from the aid will be used to compensate those who lost them in the pyramid schemes.

Rilindja says that the president of the Republic of Kosova will visit Washington in August and the Albanian president Rexhep Mejdani will visit Turkey on the invitation of the Turkish President Sulejman Demirel. Referring to the opening of the international conference on Albania in Rome, the paper says: "What is Albania waiting from the donors' conference."

Albania carries the editorial: "Opposition in danger," and says "Red taifoon on radio television." Regarding the DP press conference, the paper says "Nano 3", neither realist nor applicable."

Koha Jone says "Rome, Nano meets with Marshal" and carries the editorial: "All roads lead to Rome." The paper says "DP: North committees be established."

Dita says "Alimucaj (VEFA president) accompanied by controllers." The paper carries the editorial "Right wing on the left."

Gazeta Shqiptare referring to the visit of a government delegation in Rome says "Nano: No money for money-lending, only aid." The paper reports on the law on transparency of money-lending: "Thorough control on pyramid schemes." Referring to the murder of the newspaper journalist, the paper says: "Prishtina mourns the journalist Ali Ukaj."

Balli i Kombit covers the speech of the leader of the National Front party, deputy Hysen Selfo in parliament who says: "Albanians ask for lost money."

Ushtria and Koha carries the names of the new cabinet while Sindikalisti says "Program of the Nano government, a process without consulting Independent Trade Union Federation of Albania." kei/ak/k

[05] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS HEAD OF U.S. DELEGATION IN ROME

The meeting was also attended by Marisa Lino, U.S. ambassador to Tirana, a spokesman of the Albanian prime minister said.

The meeting discusses the U.S. stand in finding ways to help Albania and concrete relations between Albania and U.S.

Nano explained to the U.S. high representative the aims of the new Albanian government to return law and order, establish institutional and economic reforms.

Holmes conveys to Nano the most cordial greetings for his appointment to the high post of prime minister and wished him successes in his difficult post.

He reiterated the readiness of the U.S. government for a total assistance to the Albanian government.

The meeting focused on the problems to be discussed in today's meeting in Rome both in the economic aspect and return of law and order, restructuring of army and institutional reforms, the spokesman said. kei/ak/k

[06] FROM THE PROGRAM OF NEW ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY BY PRIME MINISTRE FATOS NANO

"For the realisation of this strategy we shall also create an institutional and legal contemporary adequate framework, which would serve a more efficient management of the public ownership, by harmonizing better the administration-ownership relations. To this end will serve the elimination of paralel structures, which cause not only elimination of administrative responsibilities but it also complicates the process of decision-making," he said, adding that the government will aim at finding the best owner to increase chances for an efficient management of that ownership, following the privatization.

The privatization of the most strategic important sectors, almost completely state ownerships, will be one of the priorities of the economic program of the Government. In this process, a special place will be devoted to the fight against incapability and corruption.

"Professional skill and a pure figure will be the main criteria for the selection of the specialists who will work in the structures of privatization and this will eliminate to a great extend not only ordinary corruption but also abuses in general," said PM Nano. He underlined that the inner reorganization of the National Agency of Privatization will serve the consolidation of the control on the procedures of privatization applied by its affiliates in the districts.

With regard to the foreign economic assistance to bring the country out of the crisis and the rehabilitation of the economy, the program writes that the immediate objective of the new Albanian Govenment is that the donators will find in it a serious and devoted partner to realise the agreements reached so far and those to come.

The economic cooperation with the European Union will remain the basis of multilateral cooperation. The government highlights the financing of the PHARE program as the most important for the realisation of the economic reform and for the economic development of the country. The aim of the government is to consolidate the relations with the internationational financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Europewan Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and others, which have put important financial sources to the benefit of the economic development of Albania. It will not only respect all existing agreements with these institutions but it will also create conditions to increase their presence at all levels of the state structures so that the profiting from their assistance be all-sided.

"The new Government inherits from the old regime an average level of disbursion of the foreign aid, about 55 per cent, of the used fund. If analysed profoundly, this problem brings to the fore serious incapabilities of the public administration to absorb the foreign assistance rapidly," says the program of the new government.

With regard to this question, the government pledges to take immediate measures such as a quick analysis of the situation for the realisation of the main existing projects, the analysis of the projects which bring about creation of incomes to be invested in the same projects, restructuring of the undisbursed funds in cooperation with the donators and their eventual use in projects which are at present of priority, putting before responsibility the units which are engaged in the application of the projects so that to observe the deadlines of realisation of the projects, especially in the stage when the documentations are prepared, adoption of immediate measures to overcome hindrances in the projects of investments related with expropriations.

The immediate objective of the new government is that in a short-term period, no more than three months, institutional improvements and legal adjustment should be made to review and clarify the competence of the institutions involved in the realisation of the projects and programs of assistance, realising elimination of their interlacing, and consequently, the creation of the possibility for the rational exploitation of the time and human and financial sources. An important place in this direction takes the completion of the legislation on taxes and customs houses in order to avoid serious hindrances over the realisation of the programs of assistance.

The new government envisages the preparation of a package of laws, decisions and rules on the tasks of the public administration at all levels for every stage of each assistance project and an analysis, in cooperation with donators, of the activity of the structures which deal with the administration and implementation of the projects.

Among the measures envisaged to be adopted in this direction is the depolitization of the structures which deal with the administration of the projects and determination of the competence of the State Control Service on the way of the control of the projects of assistance.

Among the priorities in the use of the foreign financing, the program of the government counts: the setting up and improvement of the indispensable infrastructure, such as roads, energy, water supply, telecommunication, preparation of the necessary legal frame and construction and consoliation of the new institutions of the democratic state, encouragement for the creation of financial institutions which will mobilize the interior sources to make possible the massive privatization and support after privatization, application of important programs for social assistance.

In the realisation of the above objectives, the Government needs great financial sources. In these conditions, an important role will be played by foreign financing. "It should be born in mind the objective to ask and use mainly sources at soft terms and grants, because their cost is lower," pointed out the Prime Minister Nano.

As for the energy policy, the program aims the provision with clean energy of industrial and house consumers, at the lowest cost, ensurance of an efficient management, an economic use of the inner energy resources and the protection of the environment through the policies of the prices and proper conservation of energy sources.

In order to reach these objectives, the Governnment will aim at increasing progressively the price of the electiric energy until it covers completely its cost, encouraging consumers to save the energy and at using of other energy sources.

Alongside this, the Government aims to ease social problems in the sector of coals where enterprises have been closed down. The use of oil and gas will be in the centre of the attention because oil and gas are a sector which does presently meet almost half of the general needs of the country for energy and which will increase its weight in the future.

The strategy of the development of this sector will aim an intensified increase of the oil extraction from the existing sources through the application of modern know-how. Searching for new sources, at sea and under the ground through the realisation of new agreements with renowned foreign companies will be an important direction to increase the production from local sources. This will be considered along with the analysis of possible scenarios of Albania's integration in the big East-West energy axes of oil and gas in the region of Southeastern Europe, aiming not only at a possible connection with international systems but also the transition of these axes to the territory of Albania.

The program of the government considers mining resources as a national asset which must be optimally exploited. This will be realised through the restructuring of the Albanian geological service through the improvement of the existing legislation to find other proprier forms to draw capitals and private initiative in the rational exploitation of the existing of new mining resources.

"In the future, the role of the Government in this sector will be focused more in the management of the country's mining resources than in the direct investment for their extraction and processing," stressed Premier Nano.

In the field of tourism, the policy of the Government does not aim a direct investment but to ensure a climate of business and a favourable infrastructure for the development of tourism.

In the field of transport, the main aobjective of the state policy is to improve and develop the infrastructure of the existing network in order to faciliate the development of the market economy. A part of this is also the study on the possible privatization of the transport activities which are still under the state control, including the railway and urban transportation and the creation of a legislative and regulatory system and the creation and development of the institutional reform in the sector of transport.

Concerning the urban and rural infrastructure, the Government is in the process of developing new strategies to ensure ample urban services in the conditions of a rapid growth,presently occurring in the big cities and which is expected to continue.

The long-term policy of the Government aims to create comparable basis of the infrastructure and the services in the rural and urban areas.

In the field of agriculture, support for a stable and modern development and investments on the infrastructures of the countryside will be the priorities of the government for the coming four years. The short-term objective of the Government program is to ensure financial sources for the rehabilitation of the damages caused during the extraordinary events in the system of agriculture and food and to create state structures to meet the needs for basic food articles of the population and to create indispansible reserves especially in the remote and mountain zones where transportation over winter is difficult, to strictly observe the laws which ban the damage and ruining of forests, to observe the laws on the irrigation and drainage systems, to support investors who want to put into operation the food industry damaged by the recent unrest. To this end, the government will adopt measures to prepare and implement a strategy for the development of agriculture and will compile and apply agrarian policies which will be favourable and realistic.

Therefore, the government will prepare a new package of laws to protect the private property and the creation of the free market for land transaction, will complete the land cadastration and registration along with that of other real estates. The program also envisages financial support for special services such as vaccination in livestock, services in agriculture, a supportive policy for productive investments, a favourable policy on taxes and levies, increase of the amount of agricultural crediting, promotion of the reform in agriculture by consolidating the institutions etc.

In the field of education and science, the program of the new government guarantees free education in all levels of public school, equal chances for admissions in higher schools through competitions, creation of greater spaces for the admission of students from Kosova and other Albanian territories in the FYROM and Montegengro. It will back up all initiatives for the development of private legally based education.

With regard to the health sector, the emergent and mid-term program of the government includes the improvement of the quality of prophylaxis and treatment for every national, vaccination against Hepatitis B in the newly-born babies, 100 per cent vaccination of children, lowering of infantile death rate and that of mothers, consolidation of the service of the family doctor, fight against drug-addiction, tobacco, alcohol, etc. This program aims at extending the elements of the market economy in the health care sector, a more decentralized planning to create a greater autonomy in decision-making, privatization in various sectors of health services etc.

In the field of culture, literature, arts and sports, the program of the new Government respects the unconditioned freedom of creativeness.

"One of the priorities of our policy in this field has to do with the ban of illegal trafficking of cultural treasuries and coordination of the work with special international bodies to find and bring them to Albania," said PM Nano.

He added that through numerous programs, the Government will make possible the physical rehabilitation and restoration of many monuments of culture, such as castles, museums, archaeological works, etc. In the field of sports, the objective will be to encourage sport activities and putting again in efficience the sport premises, partly through budgetary financing, and partly through the coordination of this budget with other income sources. PAS/XH/k

(E N D)

[07] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT HOLDS TALKS WITH GERMAN AMBASSADOR

Disdorn conveyed to Mejdani the greetings of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Roman Herzog, who wishes him success in the highest post of the President of the Republic.

He stressed Germany's total support to normalise life and lead Albania to a market economy.

President Mejdani stressed the need for a closest cooperation in all fields. He pointed out the importance to maintain law and order and technical and material assistance for the Albanian army, as one of the priorities to normalise the situation and renew Albania's economy. ke

[08] PUTTING NEW LEADING RTSH COUNCIL ON PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA IS ANTICONSTITUTIONAL - director general-

"Statements of parliamentary deputies which ask for hasty procedures to change the leading staff are not based on the law and irresponsible. They express a revanchist spirit which has been noticed for a long time within the former opposition, now ruling party, and published by the left-wing press for repressions in the Albanian Radio Television," Pollo and the deputy director General of the Albanian Radio Television Antoneta Malja told a press conference on Wednesday.

Pollo said that on the basis of the law on the status of the Radio Television, the parliament renews half of the foreign members of the leading Council.

"The law does not have any prerogative which allows a change in the leading council's members by the parliament and less its executive leaders," the statement said.

Pollo said that the executive staff is not a competence of the parliament. He added that putting the election of the new leading council on the agenda of the parliament is based on political motifs.

"If the parliament illegally decided to do these changes we will address to the court and international organisations, Pollo said.

Pollo stressed that a draft to change the Albanian Radio Television from a state institution into a public one will represent a laudable work by the parliament. ak/k

[09] SEVERAL AMENDMENTS IN STATUTE OF RTSH ADOPTED

90 deputies favoured these changes, no one voted against or abstained.

The majority of the deputies were against the domination in this Leading Council by any political force, parliamentary majority.

Considered as "Red typhoon on the Radio Television" by the current leaders, Pollo and Malaj, during a news conference on Wednesday, the changes approved today by the People's Assembly in the statute consist not of nominal changes of the current staff, but only of numerical increase.

Through the newly approved law it was decided that this Council be not led by the General Director of the Albanian Radio Television, but by a chairman elected by the council itself. The deputies insisted that more specialists from different fields of life should come in this leading institution.

The deputies who discussed insisted that the draft presented in the offices of the People's Assembly should be implemented as soon as possible, and they also stressed that care should be taken so that the changes approved do not bring shifting "from a television of Berisha to that of Nano."

The next plenary sitting of the People's Assembly will be held on Monday, with the report of the Prime Minister Fatos Nano on the conference of foreign donors held in Rome, today on July 31./kled/mt/sh/

[10] AID OF GREEK GOVERNMENT FOR ALBANIAN POLICE

Attending the ceremony of receiving this aid was the State Secretary in the Interior Ministry, Ndre Legisi, as well as other senior officials of this ministry. In the police commissariat of Durres was organized a symbolic ceremony with representatives of the Greek Embassy in Tirana, representatives of the Greek police, of the state secretary Legisi, who said that Albania is and will be grateful to Greece for the aid and the support it has offered.

The representative of the Greek party underlined in this meeting that the aid and cooperation will continue further on in the future, both in the framework of the bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

This aid includes a number of patrolling vehicles, motorcycles, bulletproof jackets, uniforms and others.

This contingent of aid is destined for the police department of Tirana and for the police commissariat of Vlore. /kled/mt/sh/

[11] OPENING ADDRESS OF ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA HELD IN ROME

Honorable Prime Minister, honorable ministers, esteemed Representative of OSCE, distinguished guests,

I welcome all of you to this International Conference which is intended to follow up to the Preparatory Conference of May 26 and reassess the situation in Albania after the general elections.

A special welcome to the Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his colleagues. I am satisfied that Albania was able to be represented by the new Government here today.

The elections marked a turning point in the Albanian crisis. The emergency phase is over, and what lines in front of us can be considered as a phase of stabilization and normalization of the democratic process in the country.

I want to express my full recognition for the role that OSCE/ODHIR played during the entire electoral process, the invaluable work done by the international monitors, as well as the constructive role of the competent Albanian authorities. At the same time we all should recognize that the entire process would not have been possible without the presence in Albania of the Multinational Protection Force, which carried out its mandate under Res 1114 in a neutral ad impartial manner, providing a substantial contribution to a secure environment and a crucial logistic support to the electoral operations. At the eve of its departure from the Albanian territory, I address my sincere gratitude to all the contingents for their excellent performance.

Above all, I want to praise here the Albanian people for having so massively participated in the elections, thus providing that they are confident in their future and willing to overcome their present difficulties.

The task which now lies ahead is complex but within reach. The major problems concern the rehabilitation of the State institutions, the security field, the consolidation of the democratic life of the Country, the reconstruction of its economic and financial system.

I am confident that Albania will be able to find its wayout, and fully reintegrate in the International Community, gradually approaching the European family to which it belongs.

I trust that the new Albanian authorities will have the necessary determination to pursue this goal in a combined effort with the International Community.

All of us and certainly Italy, are committed to help Albania with a vast range of programmes, provided that Albania takes upon itself the primary responsibility for its own future.

The Italian Government has established an ad hoc committee, composed by the relevant Administrations involved in the assistance to Albania and chaired by the Commissioner General Angioni, in order to coordinate all the bilateral initiatives aimed at the social and economic recovery of the Country, with the priority to public education, health, judicial and penitentiary systems, promotion of trade and of small/medium-sized firms.

A certain degree of conditionally will be applied to Albania, certainly not as a way of penalizing the Country and its people, but as an instrument to encourage the correct implementation of agreed measures which are or will be agreed.

A package approach is needed, as the different problems are all interlinked and cannot be solved separately. Democratization, stabilization, security and economic development go hand in hand.

The OSCE, the European Union, the Western European Union, the United Nations and the related agencies, the International Red Cross and, not least, the International Financial Institutions, have already begun to assist Albania in its challenges.

The major multilateral and bilateral donors are effectively working together to assist Albania in order to overcome the consequences of the crisis and stabilize the economy, thus creating the conditions for a sound and sustainable growth. However, economic growth alone will not bring about stability and progress: one lesson that we have all learnt from the recent events is the importance of corresponding strengthening of the country's administration, and of its democratic institutions,

Special consideration needs also be given to the critical situation of the poorer groups of the Albanian population, fro whom appropriate assistance programs should be urgently adopted.

We commended the World Bank, the European Commission and the EBRD for the strategy document they have prepared, which takes all the issues duly into account and which will be circulated in this meeting.

Now that a new Government is in place, supported by the majority of the people, our expectations are very high. Rules of the road have to be drawn and respected, in the same spirit which allowed the main Albanian political forces to agree on a "pact for the future of Albania" in the past weeks.

The International Community expects a major effort in this direction from all the Albanian Parties. Law and order must be restored in Albania, and respect of human rights and democratic standards enhanced.

Italy stands ready to continue to help Albania on a bilateral basis as well as within the multilateral fora. We wish to see Albania, a Country to which we are linked by a special friendship and with which we share a common interest for stability and prosperity in the region, recovering its international profile and positive perspectives for the future of its population.

I am confident that these developments can be attained in a reasonable period of time. We will work together to make this happen.

I declare the works open. /mt/

[12] ALBANIAN SPEAKER MEETS AMBASSADORS OF FYROM AND GERMANY

Todorcevski presented the predisposition of the Macedonian Parliament to realize as soon as possible concrete steps in the cooperation between both respective parliaments.

Gjinushi expressed the delight that there have been fruitful periods in the relations between FYROM and Albania, but the maltreatment of the Albanians by the police violence have worried the Albanian opinion and parliament.

"To avoid such confrontations, underlined Gjinushi further on, it is necessary the installment of the stable dialogue and principals of the peaceful coexistence between the Albanians and Macedonians. He added that the advanced democracies are not afraid of the peaceful protests and asked Todoscevski to convey his concern regarding this problem to the Macedonian parliament and Government.

Judging that the enlarging of the multilateral relations is in the interest of both countries, Mr Gjinushi said that the Albanian problem in FYROM is a problem which influences directly in the improvement or aggravation of these relations, the same as the good relations between both countries should influence in lowering the inner tensions.

In the meeting with the German Ambassador, Mr Disdorn, the later assured aid and technical assistance for the Albanian Parliament.

Disdorn was interested to know about the draft of the new Constitution, for the administration policies and the main directions of the parliamentary proceedings, and Gjinushi informed Disdorn regarding these problems./kei/mt/sh/

[13] AD HOC COMMITTEE OF ITALIAN GOVERNMENT AIMS AT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESTORATION OF ALBANIA

The priorities of this Committee, which is chaired by General Angioni, are the public education, health, judicial and penitentiary systems, promotion of trade and of small/medium-sized firms.

"A certain degree of conditionally will be applied to Albania, certainly not as a way of penalizing the Country and its people, but as an instrument to encourage the correct implementation of agreed measures which are or will be agreed," said Dini.

Attending the conference are the special envoy of OSCE in Albania, Franz Vranitzky, as well as the commander of the Multinational Protection Force in Albania, general Luciano Forlani.

Attending are also representatives from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, England, USA, as well as other countries.

Representatives of the European Commission, ODHIR, NATO, UNO, IMF, WB participate as well.

"Special consideration needs also be given to the critical situation of the poorer groups of the Albanian population, fro whom appropriate assistance programs should be urgently adopted," said Dini in a conference.

The conference will serve to the preparation of another international conference of the donor countries, which will be held in Italy in autumn and whose objectives will be the concrete programs for the economic recovery of Albania, in accordance with the Albanian government./mt/sh/

[14] PREPARATORY MEETING FOR INTENATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALBANIA

The meeting was opened by the Foreign Minister of Italy, Lamberto Dini.

The elections of June 29, 1997, declared Mr Dini are a turning point in the Albanian crisis. The stage of emergence has already passed and what "we shall realise is a stage of stabilization and normality of the democratic process in Albania."

Dini focused in his address also on the tasks that the Rome Conference for Albania must carry out.

The fields for assistance, said Mr Dini, are the rehabilitation of state institutions, the question of security, consolidation of the democratic life in Albania and the reconstruction of the economic and financial system.

Albanian Prime minister, Fatos Nano, presented the new physiognomy of cooperation of the new government based on cohabitation and the responsibilities by all, both by the majority and the minority.

Nano described the restitution of order as one of the priorities of the government. He hailed the BEP decision to extend their mission until October and invited the participants to contribute through bilateral and multilateral ways to meet the emergent needs of the Albanian Government in this field.

In the economic aspect, PM Nano presented the fields of priority which are the return of the macro-economic stability, determination of a sound monetary system and the extension of the system of social assistance.

During the first session Mr Vranitzky and representatives of the countries and organizations taking part in the second preparatory conference on Albania took the floor.

Mr Nano, Mr Dini and Mr Vranitzky gave a joint news conference in the Italian Foreign Ministry premises.

Albanian and Italian foreign ministers respectively Paskal Milo and Lamberto Dini exchanged today letters of understanding for the extension of the agreement for the prevention of illegal activities which violate the legal order in the two countries and the granting of immediate humanitarian assistance in cases when the lives of the people who try to leave the country are in danger.

Albanian Minister of Defence Sabit Brokaj and his Italian counterpart Beniamino Andreatta signed today afternoon an agreement of understanding which opens the way to the two countries which, in the context of the perspectives of cooperation of the Partnership for Peace and the assistance of NATO, will realise a number of joint drives in the field of defence. The main point is to reach a technical agreement on the Italian military mission on military-technical cooperation and assistance for the Albanian Military Forces.

Albanian Interior Minister Neritan Ceka today had talks with Italian colleagues in the Defence Ministry.

After the talks, the Italian Government declared through a statement its readiness to contribute to the reorganization and activity of the Interior Ministry and of the structure of the Police of Albania, ends the report of the PM's spokesman. ssh/kled/xh/

Albanian Telegraphic Agency Directory - Previous Article - Next Article