Spain and Albania: Walking Together Towards a Shared European Future

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times October 9, 2024 14:54

Spain and Albania: Walking Together Towards a Shared European Future

Story Highlights

  • On Spain’s National Day, a reflection on its global impact and the deepening ties between two Mediterranean nations, united by a common path in the European Union.

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by Ambassador Álvaro Renedo Zalba​*

As we celebrate Spain’s national Holiday, please allow me to look back and reflect on the significance of the date we commemorate today.

On October 12th, 1492, Christopher Columbus, at the behest of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragón, discovered the New World, ushering IN an unprecedented era of global interconnections.

This event of paramount importance coincided with national unification in Spain, after the conquest of Granada, also in 1492.

In the following centuries, Spain played a crucial role in shaping global history.

Continents were bridged. Worlds apart came together. Civilizations -hitherto unbeknownst to each other- met, blended, and became forever interweaved.

The Spanish language forged a global link between peoples and cultures in different hemispheres.

What significance does this legacy bear in today’s world?

Spain is a pivotal member of the Ibero American community, which currently unites 500 million native speakers of Spanish -the second most spoken mother tongue in the world, after Mandarin. [I’m always telling my Brazilian colleague Joao that we are both co Chairs of the Ibero American Community in Albania, as we are the only two resident Ambassadors from such Community here.]

Spain is a bridge between Europe and America.

A nation with a global outlook.

We are the fourth largest economy in the EU.

We are deeply committed to European integration.

We work resolutely for a strengthened NATO, following the New Strategic Concept adopted in Madrid in 2022.

We are firm believers in the need for effective, multilateral DIPLOMACY [through the UN, the G20, CELAC, OSCE, OECD, the Council of Europe, and the European Political Community -whose leaders met one year ago in Granada and who will meet next year in Albania.]

Spanish culture -like Albanian- appeals to people throughout the world.

Cervantes, Velazquez and García Lorca are undying inspirations, which beckon to us today from the walls of this residence. Moreover, our contemporary culture is alive and IN full effervescence. I will never forget the 70.000 people in Skanderbeg Square last year, singing blissfully along with Enrique Iglesias, in his first concert in this region. Or the enthusiasm in the eyes of the children that participated in Real Madrid’s first ever training campus in Albania in June this year. Or the countless phone calls we are receiving inquiring about the arrival in Gjirokaster of UNED -Spain’s biggest public university and Europe’s largest campus, with over 200.000 students from 100 nationalities. And the touching works of art on Spain exhibited today, made by the students of Arco iris School in Tirana, founded with the support of Spain.

We are world leaders in tourism: over 85 million people visited us last year.

Spain has notable global projection ALSO in sports: in football, we won this year’s European Cup, although it must be acknowledged that Albania’s impressive national football team put up a good fight. Subsequently, we won the Football Olympics. Spain also won last year’s World Cup in Female Football. Real Madrid is the only team in history with 15 Champions League titles; and Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Jon Ram are just a few examples of other Spanish names engraved in the global Hall of Fame in sports.

Spanish gastronomy is also known throughout the world, and, in a similar way to Albania’s extraordinary cuisine, it reflects the different cultures and traditions that make Spain the unique Nation it is today.

As a tribute to the salient role of gastronomy in Spanish and Albanian societies, we will shortly experience the culinary art of world-famous chefs from both our countries:

Fundim Gjipali and … Juan José San Bartolomé, Daniel Vidal-Ortells and Silvia Ferri.

The choice of such stellar figures is far from random.

The first time I came into contact with Fundim’s cuisine was in 2012, when the Spanish Prime Minister attended a lunch with the Prime Minister of Italy at Palazzo Chigi, served by a young, brilliant Albanian chef. No other than the great Fundim Gjipali. Moreover, his restaurant was the first restaurant I dined in upon beginning my mission in Albania. Fundim told me that, throughout his life, he has always strived to leave a trace, a mark in the soul… “Lasciare tracia”, were his words.

That is precisely what his cuisine -and this country- have done to my wife Mercedes and I –especially this year, after the birth in Tirana of our third child: a Tirons in the family!

A very special thanks goes to my good friend Altin Mulla, owner of Napoleon Wine and Spirits, for rendering possible Fundim’s participation and making this National Holiday truly special.

On the Spanish side of today’s culinary line-up, we have the recipients of the 2023 edition of the most prestigious international Paella contest -which, fun fact, is not always won by Spaniards. Juan José, Daniel and Silvia are from Valencia, a Mediterranean city, which is the cradle of Paella and which lies at the deepest roots of the friendship between Albania and Spain.

In the 15th century, Valencia -a realm of the Crown of Aragón- was one of the main supporters of Skenderbej in his revolt against the Ottoman Empire. In 1501, Skenderbej’s spouse, Donika, and their son, Alonso, found refuge in the Royal Palace in Valencia, the city where they spent the rest of their days, and were laid to eternal rest.

In honor of Albania’s Mediterranean character and legacy, today we will enjoy the world’s top Paella, served alongside traditional Spanish tapas, and first-rate Albanian cuisine.

Needless to say, this unique culinary fusion requires wines of corresponding caliber. Today we will savor wines from one of Spain’s most prestigious wineries, Vega Sicilia, a label which ranks among the finest and most exclusive in the world. I am very grateful to my friend Lola, from Alehandro Wines, for making possible this extraordinary vinic experience.

Finally, yet also importantly, such gastronomic tour de force must be accompanied by special music. I would like to thank wholeheartedly my friend Arben Skenderi, Director of the Cultural Center of the Albanian Armed Forces, for his invaluable artistic guidance. Arben embodies what is in my opinion Albania’s greatest treasure: the extraordinary talent of its people. What Ismael Kadaré referred to as “the inmmense human energy present in Albania”.

Today Albania and Spain are closer than ever.

Never before have there been so many tourists from Spain to Albania, and from Albania to Spain. As a diplomat -whose fundamental purpose is to bring people together- it is profoundly satisfying to increasingly hear Spanish speakers in the buzzing streets of Tirana, the breathtaking trails in Theth, or the enchanting ruins of Butrint. And it also becoming ever more common to hear the beautifully ancient Albanian language in Gran Vía or Plaza Colón, in the beating heart of Madrid. Daily direct flights have contributed to this in no small degree.

With regard to education, we are about to inaugurate, in Gjirokaster, a full-fledged campus of UNED, which, along with the College of Europe, will be the first EU high-education institutions which establish a permanent campus in Albania. This is a true milestone which shows that Albania is becoming a true academic hub.

Economically, more and more Spanish companies are present in Albania.

In tourism, Meliá has become the reference hotel company in Albania, whose leadership is closely associated to Spain’s country brand; the tour operator and bed bank W2M, part of Iberostar Group, is also playing a crucial role in bringing Spaniards to Albania.

In football, Joma provides the competition attire for half of the teams in the Albanian football league.

Last but not leasy, politically, our friendship is stronger than ever. In the past two years, Prime

Minister Sanchez has visited Albania twice, and Prime Minister Rama has also visited Spain frequently. The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has also visited Albania twice recently; and Minister Hasani visited Madrid in March. Last year, the Minister of the Interior of Spain visited Albania for the first time in history, and in May his Albanian counterpart visited Madrid. And so on and so forth.

Both Spain and Albania are two great Mediterranean, European nations with strong Atlantic links, long histories, a promising future together within the European Union, and global projection.

Never has our relationship been more meaningful.

World order is under greater stress, in more places at the same time, than at any other moment since the end of World War II.

One year after the heinous terrorist attacks in Israel, in which two Spanish citizens were murdered, the Middle East is in a devastating spiral of violence and unspeakable suffering. War rages in Gaza, and now also in Lebanon and more fronts. The region stands on the brink of a wider war that would have massive consequences.

Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine –an EU candidate country- continues to wreak death, chaos, and destruction on European soil. While the EU held the first intergovernmental conference with Ukraine last June, the horror continues, day by day. And the situation is no less grievous for international security.

In Africa, coups proliferate in the Sahel, while civil war, terrorism and humanitarian crises seem to be metastasizing through the continent.

The Western Pacific is less violent but nonetheless very dangerous, with acute geopolitical tensions between great powers.

In Latin America, criminal gangs terrorize populations and plunge societies into disarray.

It is not easy to find a region in the world untouched by disorder.

But there are important reasons for hope.

Great strides are being made in science, artificial intelligence being one of the most promising breakthrough technologies. This month’s Nanotechnology Conference, hosted by Albania and organized by the Catalan Institute for Nanotechnology, and other institutions, will surely make important contributions to this field.

Our euroatlantic community is more united than it had been in years. NATO is stronger than ever, after the incorporation of Sweden and Finland, and a renewed sense of purpose within the Alliance.

The EU has opened a new political term, after the elections to the European Parliament in June, and institutional renovation is in full motion. By the end of the year, Europe’s capital, while foreseeably still unable to boast Albania’s 300 days of sunny weather, will put forward a shiny new European Commission, including an Executive Vice-Presidency for the Clean, Just and Competititve Transition, proposed for the Spaniard Teresa Ribera; and new Commissioners specifically for Enlargement, and Defence and Space.

A second Intergovernmental Conference with Albania will soon take place and open Cluster 1 on Fundamentals -the cornerstone of the EU political construct.

This is a long-awaited, merited and crucial step forward.

Looking back at the June 2014 European Council, which granted Albania’s EU candidate status and in the backstage of which I participated, it is truly spectacular how, ever since, Albania has advanced in its European integration, so substantially and swiftly. So resolutely and effectively.

A great Europeanist once wrote that Europe is a dream that never gives up. I believe that those same words could well be applied to the steadfast commitment of the Albanian nation to European integration.

We must be fully cognizant of the strategic added value and the soft power that Albania brings to the EU, contributing to our strength and influence.

Before I wrap up, please allow me to thank the Embassy -with a particular mention to the local staff- for the service and loyalty to Spain throughout the years. You exemplify the finest tradition of public service, and Spain is deeply fortunate to have you.

I would like to conclude with a message of friendship, gilded with the words of the eternal Spanish poet, Antonio Machado.

Albania can count on Spain, as we walk, together, down the path towards our shared European future.

A path we make with our own steps.

*Speech delivered on the occasion of the Spanish National Holiday. 

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times October 9, 2024 14:54