Rasi: Slovakia Backs Albania's EU Path, Stronger Parliamentary Ties

Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) on Wednesday held talks with Albanian President Bajram Begaj at Bratislava Castle on bilateral relations, the development of inter-parliamentary and economic cooperation, as well as Albania's integration process into the European Union, TASR learnt from Parliament's press department on the same day. Both sides confirmed that mutual relations are friendly, constructive and without open political issues. As for the dynamically developing political dialogue, Rasi underlined Slovakia's readiness to help Albania with reforms and share its own transformation experience. "Slovakia sees Albania as a stable and reliable partner in the western Balkans region. Our bilateral relations have recently recorded a positive shift and we are ready to transform this well-developing political dialogue into more intensive cooperation at several levels. In the parliamentary dimension, we see considerable scope for reviving contacts, and therefore I proposed to President Begaj the establishment of more regular and systematic communication between the committees of our legislative bodies," said Rasi. The partners also discussed economic development and tourism. They agreed that the gradual increase in trade creates room for new investment opportunities in areas such as energy, infrastructure, IT and green technologies. "The recent launch of direct flights between Bratislava and Tirana is a positive impulse for bringing the citizens of both countries closer together and also for simplifying business contacts," Rasi noted. European integration was also among the issues discussed during the meeting. According to the parliamentary chair, Slovakia has long consistently supported Albania's ambitions to become an EU member. mf