The Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Albania, Ermonela Felaj received a delegation from the Committee for Foreign Policy of the Parliament of the Republic of Finland in a meeting at the Presidency of the Assembly.
Present at this meeting were the chairman of the Commission for Foreign Policy of Finland, Kimmo Kiljunen and the members Tytti Tuppurainen, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Vilhelm Junnila, Jarmo Lindberg, Eva Biaudet, Jussi Saramo, Jonna Savola and Maria Hyvönen.
At the beginning of the meeting, Felaj appreciated the relations between the two countries and expressed her readiness to strengthen cooperation at all levels.
She expressed her gratitude for Finland's support in the process of Albania's European integration and introduced the members of the delegation more closely to the challenges and reforms undertaken by the Assembly of Albanian, the salary reform and the government's continuous support to citizens and business.
"One of the things we fought a lot for is the gender equality. This is reflected in the central government and local government. We also asked ODIHR OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) for a gender audit, which could be an important step in the fight for gender equality. We currently have digitized public services. We have considered this as a valuable way to fight bureaucratic corruption. Another reform has to do with salaries. We will work on pension’s reform too. We support farmers and small businesses. We have considered these as a way to expand the economy and the free initiative. Regarding the European integration process, we have opened 33 [membership negotiation] chapters and we want to continue with the rest. We thank your country for supporting Albania in the process of European integration and the opening of negotiations," said Felaj.
The chairperson of the Commission for Foreign Policy in Finland, Kimmo Kiljunen said that the relations between the two countries will be strengthened, and congratulated on the large number of women in politics. Kiljunen underlined that they will commit to have a diplomatic representation of Albania in Finland.
The delegation from the Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Finland is visiting Albania following their Balkan tour, having previously visited Kosova and North Macedonia.
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