Diplomatic Diary: Bilateral co-operation is focus of Mesic's Albania visit

22/04/2008

Croatia's president paid a two-day visit to Tirana. Also this week: Turkey's foreign minister visits Pakistan, and Albania inaugurates a joint customs point with Montenegro.

Albanian President Bamir Topi (left) and his Croatian counterpart, Stipe Mesic, inspect an honour guard before their meeting in Tirana on Monday (April 21st).

Croatian President Stipe Mesic arrived in Tirana on Monday (April 21st) for a two-day official visit. He met with <b>Albanian</b> President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli and Tirana Mayor Edi Rama. Bilateral co-operation and economic ties top Mesic's agenda.

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Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Montenegrin counterpart, Milo Djukanovic, inaugurated a joint customs point Monday (April 21st) at the Muriqan border crossing. The project, financed by the European Commission, is the first of its kind in the region.

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Macedonia and the United States will sign a bilateral agreement on military and technical co-operation on May 7th in Washington, announced Skopje's Ambassador to the US, Zoran Jolevski. He said the deal would be signed by Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Milososki and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Pakistani counterpart, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vowed on Saturday (April 19th) to continue their joint fight against terrorism. They also said Turkish, Pakistani and Afghan representatives may hold a meeting in June to discuss how to ensure peace in Afghanistan. Babacan was in Islamabad for a two-day official visit.

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The Dutch parliament plans to ratify Montenegro's Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in June, Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Gordana Djurovic said on Friday (April 18th). She made the announcement after a visit to the Netherlands, where she met with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister, Sven Alkalaj, was in Brussels on Friday (April 18th), holding talks with European Commission officials. Alkalaj said he expects the official signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and BiH to take place on April 28th.

(Various sources 15/04/08-22/04/08)