Jerusalem, Prime Minister Rama meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Rama, who is in Jerusalem, Israel, on his participation in the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, met today with the Prime Minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he held a one-on-one meeting, followed by talks between the two delegations. Following these meetings, Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Prime Minister of Israel delivered a joint press statement.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: I want to welcome Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania.

Prime Minister Rama is a great friend of the Jewish people, a great friend of the Jewish state, and may I say also a great personal friend. He represents the real spirit of Albania and perhaps people don’t know this and the world should know that Albania was the only European country which during the Holocaust had the Jewish population inside Albania grow and not decline.

It grew because Albanians, Muslim Albanians, in the spirit of moderation, in the spirit of tolerance, in the spirit of human dignity, protected the hundreds of Jews who lived in Albania at the time and also received many others. That’s the spirit that you represent. This is a story.

We were talking about this just a few minutes ago. This is the story that the world should know. This is the stuff, as you said, of inspiring movies. People should know the great role that Albania played, the moral role that Albania played during the darkest hours of human history.

That’s the spirit that you continue today, my good friend Edi. You stand with courage against those who would intimidate you. You stand for the truth. You stood by Israel when we were attacked by these barbarians. Your moral compass did not waver, and this is something that we deeply appreciate and marks you as an outstanding leader for your people and I think for the broad segments of humanity that want the truth to be defended and the moral values that we share.

Equally, and not surprisingly, we are building great ties between Albania and Israel. The number of Israeli tourists who have gone to Albania has increased by 800 percent. Soon it will be 1,000 and soon it will be a lot more. I can tell all Israelis that Albania is a beautiful country with beautiful people, so go there, number one.

Number two, we have Israeli investors and companies who understand that there is a great economic opportunity in Albania. There is a free market orientation and there are things that can be developed jointly with Albanians. That’s going to be enhanced by the opening of the Chamber of Commerce in Jerusalem. I think it’s tomorrow under Prime Minister Rama. This is something that I think will advance our economic ties. And finally, I would say that we have also an understanding beyond interest, but in the deepest sense of human sympathy, that we recognize that there is a foundation of kinship between our two peoples and I want to say that there is a foundation of kinship between the two of us as well.

So welcome, Edi. Thank you prime Minister!

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you so much, Prime Minister.

I want to reiterate that Albania and Israel share excellent relations rooted in a profound friendship between the Albanian Jewish people forged across centuries of history. When time and again Jews fleeing persecution in the West came and settled on our shores, Albania’s unique historical legacy of safeguarding Jews during the Holocaust makes this bond deeply special. And to me and to us is a testament by the moral courage of our grandparents, a testament that we should never forget and we should do everything to pass from generation to generation.

And as a government, we are fully committed to cherishing this inheritance from history and maintain a firm, clear, consistent stance against anti-Semitism, both at home and internationally.

Although Albania’s Muslim-majority population joined the ranks of solidarity worldwide with the suffering of ordinary Palestinian people during the Gaza War, Albanians did not rally in gatherings of hatred against Israel, nor did they project anger over the horrifying pain of the Palestinian people onto the growing number of Jews visiting our country. This stands in stark contrast to what has unfortunately occurred in many other parts of Europe, where anti-Semitism has once again become a deeply disturbing presence.

Our nation stands firmly against anti-Semitism, just as it stands against Islamophobia. We unequivocally refuse to allow hatred or discrimination to guide our thinking or actions and our relations with other people and nations.

Visiting the Nova site yesterday upon my arrival was profoundly unsettling. Yet I felt a sense of moral relief toward the souls of that painful place in knowing that we never failed them. We stood with the hostages and their families and against the Hamas neo-Nazi butchers, whose actions have brought unbearable suffering not only to Israelis, but for far too long also to our Palestinian brothers and sisters, dehumanized by Hamas to the point of being reduced to instruments of war, turned into defensive infrastructure of human flesh, unseen, unheard in the history of barbarism, mere meat for the fire of terror. So Albania is honored to join the Board of Peace founded by President Trump, and I view this invitation as both recognition and moral responsibility.

We will continue to support all efforts, including President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, and we will do our part within the International Stabilization Force for Gaza. And with Israel, we will continue to deepen cooperation in defense, security, cyber security, and counter-terrorism.

Mr. Prime Minister, allow me to express once again our sincere gratitude to Israel for its critical support during the massive Iranian cyber attack against Albania.

Like Israel, Albania maintains no diplomatic relations with Iran, a great country with an extraordinary civilization that has been transformed into an island of darkness and blind hatred towards any light.

And while we pray for the countless souls burned in recent days in the fires of hominism, we hold the hope and the conviction that the days of terror and assassins are drawing to an end.

On the other hand, we welcome expanded trade and investment, building on Israel’s technological expertise, having day after day agreements to jointly build up a new defense military production, and thanks to the partnership with Israel, recreating the conditions for the ‘Made in Albania’ in the defense systems to also go abroad.

So, in the spirit of growing cooperation, we will announce tomorrow, as you mentioned, the opening of the Chamber of Commerce in Jerusalem, aimed at strengthening business ties and promoting Albania and its opportunities as a strongly emerging nation.

Last but not least, I want to conclude with the most impressive and most encouraging note of this relation, tourism and people-to-people exchange that finally are growing as they should, supported by direct flights between Israel and Albania.

I want to warmly invite all Jewish people to visit Albania, a remarkable land, not just in nature, but in soul, described by a Jewish observer before the Second World War as a place where Jews could live openly, safely and in full dignity.

Thank you, Prime Minister.