Tirana, Albania — Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed on Thursday what he called an “extraordinary partnership” between Washington and Tirana, showing support to his country’s Balkan ally.
During his first visit to Albania, Blinken met Prime Minister Edi Rama and young Albanians, as Washington welcomes the country’s firm support for Ukraine and its chairmanship of a difficult U.N. Security Council session last year.
The visit is intended to reinforce bilateral relations with a key partner for maintaining stability in the Balkans, senior State Department official Yuri Kim said earlier.
“This partnership between our two countries is stronger than it’s ever been,” Blinken told a joint press conference with Rama.
“We did very, very important and strong work together, particularly holding the pen together on the question of Ukraine and Russian aggression.”
The small Balkan country joined NATO in 2009 and is a candidate for membership of the European Union.
“Albania has made significant contributions to our alliance,” Blinken said, adding that in a few weeks it will inaugurate a NATO air base, calling it a “very strong example of defense partnership.”
The air base in Kucova, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Tirana, is a symbol of Albania’s westward shift and an important NATO strategic facility in the Western Balkans as Russia wages war in Ukraine.
Partnership
Earlier Thursday, Blinken attended a forum with young Albanians in a pyramid in the heart of Tirana, originally built as a memorial to Albania’s paranoid communist dictator Enver Hoxha and now turned into an education and innovation hub.
“It’s not a relevant past. It’s a powerful living symbol of the present and the future,” he told the students.
Albania has seen a shift toward the West after decades of isolation under the regime of Hoxha.
A large majority of Albanians have a very positive image of the United States, according to recent opinion polls.
Giant posters in the streets of Tirana greeted Blinken’s arrival.
Blinken also met Afghan refugees in Tirana who fled their country after the Taliban seized power two years ago and are awaiting U.S. visas.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the partnership that we’ve had in helping our friends from Afghanistan,” he said after meeting them.
From Tirana, Blinken headed for Germany, where he will take part in the Munich Security Conference alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
His trip to Europe comes as Ukraine is beginning to feel the pinch from a lack of new U.S. weapons and ammunition.
Donald Trump — President Joe Biden’s predecessor and likely Republican challenger in November — is pressuring his party not to seal a package in Congress to resume military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
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