PRESIDENT BEGAJ’S SPEECH AT THE DIASPORA SUMMIT – NOVEMBER 2023
Honorable fellow compatriots,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It’s a special pleasure to gather from all corners of the world to discuss and coordinate for the future of our Albania.
Although geographically small, Albania has been given a global reach far beyond its size by you. Today, the Albanian communities around the world embody, above all, the free spirit of the Albanian. Countless Albanians in the diaspora have become success stories.
The diaspora is the most efficient promoter of our culture and identity, representing Albanianism globally. On your journey filled with sacrifices, you have never forgotten Albania. Each of you has contributed to our nation within your means.
Albania cannot afford to neglect its diaspora. It shouldn’t be seen as a separate part but as a natural extension of our culture and identity. History has taught us that our country has only benefited from its children abroad.
Circumstances have changed fundamentally, but there is still much to do.
Most of you, your families, or parents have migrated from this country or our lands. Albania bears the weight, but also the privilege of a dedication with emotion, idealism, nostalgia, and longing. Therefore, I am convinced that your commitment is a great added value to our society.
I invite you to actively contribute with ideas, suggestions, projects, and enterprises to consolidate democracy and the rule of law, the economy and tourism, and other areas where you think we should work more closely together.
Honorable friends,
Our country is especially beloved to Albanians and foreigners for the free and friendly relations we create, the unique nature, culinary traditions, beautiful family meals, friends, and admirers, and faith in natural, human, and cultural resources. But it’s the Albanian language that brings life and meaning to all these, both inside and outside the country.
I will continue to support the work started by the state institutions to distribute Albanian books from state authorities to Albanian communities in the diaspora, but this is not enough.
Children should have more opportunities to learn Albanian, wherever they are. The use of the Albanian language cannot be enforced; it emerges as a community’s need to preserve it, our culture, and our national identity. Therefore, the role of parents in passing on the Albanian language to their children is paramount.
Learning and the quality of using the Albanian language should be priorities that unite us. See it as an investment in your future, this rare and rich language in the heart of Europe.
A special thank you today goes to all the teachers and educators for their dedication and commitment to passing on the Albanian language, preserving our national identity.
Honorable participants,
For centuries, we Albanians have been emigrating. Each of us has at least one close family member living or working outside Albania. We are like a vine with a heart, mind, and eyes for each other, even though we are far apart.
I appreciate the work done, especially in recent years, towards structuring the Albanian state’s relationship with the diaspora. The creation of institutional and legal mechanisms will enable closer cooperation with concrete results.
Only when Albanians living and working abroad feel part of their country like those living within it will Albania reach its full potential.
In this regard, there are several necessary steps to be taken. Firstly, voting. Albanian citizens outside the country should be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote without having to come to Albania. They should vote according to a model successfully applied by many other countries.
This will turn the diaspora into direct actors in shaping the political and administrative configuration in Albania.
Secondly, the diaspora should have political representation that will give voice to the priorities of Albanians abroad. All these are processes that cannot be accomplished overnight, but they are not unattainable objectives and, above all, are necessary initiatives for us Albanians to be together despite being far apart.
Honorable fellow compatriots,
There’s something I feel obliged to say whenever I meet Albanians living and working abroad: we owe you a great debt for your significant contributions.
Your contribution is irreplaceable in terms of remittances, but not only that. Albanians who have lived and sacrificed for years in emigration have returned and contribute with new ideas and initiatives in various fields, initiating many successful ventures that benefit entire communities.
On the other hand, students, athletes, and outstanding professionals living and working outside Albania do the best promotion for a country every day with their work. Your contribution is fundamental to the image and standing of our country.
Thousands of Albanians employed in various sectors around the globe contribute to strengthening the image of a peaceful country that cultivates democratic values, tolerance, and religious coexistence. They are part of communities near or far from our region and bring the best Albanian name and values to the daily life of other cultures.
To all of you present and all Albanians abroad who follow us, I want to thank you for your valuable contribution. I bow with respect to your endless sacrifices.
Albania belongs to each of us and all of us together. It does not belong more to those within the country than to those outside. Albanians both inside and outside the country have equally contributed to Albania’s independence, democracy, well-being, and advancement of the aspiration for EU integration. Therefore, only together can we make Albania developed, a decisive factor in the region, and a worthy member of the European family.
This will be the greatest wealth of each individual and the capital we must pass on to the younger generations so that our history turns into a story of successes and dreams realized both within and outside the country.
Thank you very much!