PRESS RELEASE
Albanian ambassador pays a farewell visit to IFIMES
LJUBLJANA, 14 February 2013 – Directors of the International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) from Ljubljana Bakhatyar Aljaf and Zijad Bećirović today received the resigning Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Slovenia dr. Sandër Kovaçi.
Ambassador dr. Kovaçi thanked the Institute for successful cooperation during his service as ambassador to Slovenia and stressed that the activities of the Institute have been very useful not only for Albania but for the whole Balkan region. He expressed hope that the Institute's activities will continue to contribute to strengthening peace and stability as well as deepening ties and speeding up economic recovery in the whole region.
IFIMES directors commended Albania on its contribution to regional peace and stability as well as to global security after its accession to NATO. They stressed that all Albanian institutions and political forces should form a common position on Albania's EU accession processes, as was the case in all countries that subsequently became full EU member states. They also commanded Albanian government on its efforts to carry out fair and transparent elections this year, which will present an additional test for Albanian democracy.
At the end IFIMES directors stressed that dr. Kovaçi was one of the most active ambassadors in the diplomatic corps of the Republic of Slovenia and contributed significantly to strengthening relations between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Albania. At the end of the visit IFIMES directors presented ambassador dr. Kovaçi a special award for his contributions to successful cooperation.
Ljubljana, 14 February 2013
