Albania holds first ever Albanian Diaspora summit

Around 800 representatives of the Albanian Diaspora from all over the world gathered in Tirana to attend the first ever Albanian Diaspora summit organized by the government here on Nov. 18-20, official sources informed Saturday.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama held a welcome ceremony on Friday night to greet all the participants from all fields of life who answered the call of Albanian authorities to meet in the Albanian capital city, while several activities were held Saturday to promote further cooperation and increase the presence of Albanian Diaspora here.

"In these three days, we will discuss and decide together how to unite our strength in order to make Albania's future better and more prosperous," the prime minister said.

Meantime, according to the Albanian foreign minister, the summit marked the beginning of a new chapter between Albania and Albanians abroad.

The role of Albanian Diaspora, concentrated in Europe and the United States, has been irreplaceable, the foreign minister said in an activity Saturday, adding that the Diaspora representatives represent the voice of more than 1.5 million Albanians.

Actually, this is the first time that Albanian government has pledged to create concrete structures and allocate a budget designed to channel the Diaspora's contribution to the Albanian economy.

European integration, foreign investments, promotion of tourism, arts and culture, a larger support for the Albanian Diaspora were some of the topics discussed at different panels. Endit