Amid reservations from the European Union and some countries about the feasibility and role of the new international peace initiative promoted by Donald Trump, the Albanian Prime Minister is packing his bags to travel to the United States. Edi Rama will participate in the first meeting of the so-called "Peace Council", which is scheduled to take place in Washington.
The meeting is scheduled for February 19 in Washington, and Albania will attend as a founding member. This participation was made possible following a decision by the Albanian Parliament, which approved the country's membership, responding to an official invitation from the US presidency to the Albanian Prime Minister.
In addition to the Albanian side, leaders of other states that are among the original members of the new organization have also confirmed their participation in this first meeting, a fact that gives the project an international character from its very beginning.
The Prime Minister himself referred to the invitation and his trip to the United States during his weekly podcast Flasim, where he offered his own version of the developments:
«Μου ήρθε αυτή την εβδομάδα η πρόσκληση από τον Πρόεδρο των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Και πράγματι, όπως το είχα προαναγγείλει, θα βρίσκομαι στην Ουάσινγκτον για την επίσημη ίδρυση του Συμβουλίου Ειρήνης και για την έναρξη της δραστηριότητάς του, όπου η Αλβανία έχει το προνόμιο να είναι ιδρυτικό κράτος και όπου η Αλβανία δεν θα συνεισφέρει με χρήματα για να γίνει μέλος ή για να παραμείνει μόνιμο μέλος, αλλά συνεισφέρει με την αξιοπρέπειά της και με ό,τι την έχει καταστήσει σεβαστή διεθνώς και έχει οδηγήσει στην πρόσκλησή της, έως αυτό το τόσο υψηλό επίπεδο συζήτησης για το μέλλον της ειρήνης».
The Albanian government presents this participation as a sign of international recognition, emphasizing that the country's presence in the new organization is based on its political role and not on economic commitments, at a time when international balances around security and peace issues are in constant reshaping.
