Statements by the U.S. House of Representatives Members John Duncan and Jerry Castello (August 22, 2006)

Rep. Duncan: I am Congressman John Duncan from Tennessee. I have the privilege of being the Chairman of this delegation. We have come here to Albania to express our desire that we have closer ties both of friendship and commerce in the years ahead. And we came here to learn more about Albania and what the needs are of your country. We are proud that the United States is doing more to help the people of Albania, than perhaps any other country in the world. And all of us in our delegation have seen what we believe are tremendous opportunities for the future here.

You have great beauty in this nation as well as tremendous natural resources. And we believe that with the proper leadership and with the institution of free market reforms and removal of corruption so that your have a strong legal system especially for contracts and ownership of property that there can be great investments coming into this country from businesses in the United States of America. It has been a tremendous honor to be hosted by your wonderful prime minister and by your Speaker of Parliament and other members of your government.

This is a 12-member delegation from the United States of America. This is the largest delegation ever to tour Europe. Chairing this delegation with me is Congressman Jerry Costello from Illinois. And I would like Congressman Costello to say a few words at this time.

Rep. Costello: Congressman Duncan, thank you very much. As Chairman Duncan stated, this is a 12-member delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a bi-partisan delegation made up of five Republicans and seven Democrats. While we do not always agree on every issue, we know that it’s important for democracy to flourish that we work together and we sit down and try and negotiate and reason on issues important not only to the United States, but to the world.

We are very impressed with the improvements that have already been made and the path that has been charted for improvement not only in infrastructure, but to improve the quality of life for the people in this great country. We look forward to continuing to have a close working relationship with the Prime Minister and your government for many years to come.

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