Statement by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England After Meeting with Prime Minister Sali Berisha Tirana, Albania (September 30, 2008)

Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you for your hospitality. It is absolutely delightful to be here in Albania with my wife. We are enjoying the hospitality of the country and I thank you very much for the invitation to spend some time with you this morning.

The Prime Minister and I had an opportunity to discuss a number of topics, important to both of our countries. We talked about the stability of the region, military modernization in Albania, the business climate, the reforms underway, and also the issue of unexploded ordnance.

The U.S. and Albania share a strong partnership and a warm friendship. The Albanian military is serving shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Albania's Armed Forces are also playing an important role in supporting peace-keeping operations around the world.

The U.S. is very grateful for your continued strong support of these critical missions.  Albania is a key contributor in securing cooperation and security across the Balkans and our countries share the goal of furthering peace and prosperity in the region.

I am particularly delighted to be here this week, after the U.S. Senate approved the accession of Albania into NATO.

Over the past almost two decades Albania and the U.S. have worked together to help the Albanian people overcome the long-term effects of communism and war. I congratulate the Albanian leadership and the Albanian people and the significant progress they have made in instituting many reforms. I encourage both the government and the people to continue those reforms and to respect independent institutions that will help your country build a strong democracy and economy.

So, I am delighted to be here to further the strong relationships between our countries and between our military departments and I look forward to continuing to work with the Albanian government and military as we strengthen those relationships in the future.

And again, I want to thank the Prime Minister for his very good hospitality, but also for all of his help in working with the United States in furthering the relationship and in furthering the stability both of Albania and the region.

I congratulate the PM for his very very strong leadership and the progress to date and it is a pleasure to be with you.