[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13871-S13872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ALBANIA AND THE UNITED STATES

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, Albanian President Berisha has 
recently concluded a successful visit to the United States, 
strengthening the relationship between his nation and ours. On this 
occasion, I would like to share with my colleagues the following 
article written by Michael D. Granoff, Director of the US-Albania 
Enterprise Fund, on September 6. I ask that the article be printed in 
the Record.
  The article follows:

           Albania and the United States: An Old New Paradigm

       There has been much handwringing lately by politicians, 
     diplomats and pundits of all stripes lamenting the state of 
     US foreign policy. The oft cited vision thing. I recently 
     visited Albania as a Presidential appointee to the Board of 
     the US-Albania Enterprise Fund and observed the beginning of 
     a new relationship that may serve as a model as we confront a 
     changing, and perhaps ironically a more unstable, world 
     landscape.
       Albania was one of the most isolated nations on earth under 
     the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha after World War II. 
     A nation with no relationship to the United States. Now, a 
     democratically elected President, Sali Berisha, has embarked 
     on a set of reforms to promote democratic institutions and 
     the development of the private sector. Albania needs to 
     create a new economy out of whole cloth. Its leaders do not 
     have the benefit of prior experience in the world community. 
     Its existing financial institutions are remnants of a bygone 
     age and are not up to the task. To use the terminology of the 
     venture capital business, Albania is a restart and restarts 
     are always risky. In this case I think it may be a good bet.
       I found President Berisha, Finance Minister Vrioni and 
     other government officials to be committed to reform, honest 
     about their problems and ready to take tough action. Our 
     political leaders could perhaps learn something from the 
     ``developing'' Albanians. Repressed for 50 years, the people 
     of Albania exhibit a palpable desire to take control of their 
     political and economic lives.
       The US-Albania Enterprise Fund was initiated by President 
     Clinton as the last of a series of funds first conceived 
     under the Bush Administration to promote private sector 
     development in the formerly communist countries of Eastern 
     Europe. The Funds are controlled by Boards of Directors 
     consisting largely of private business people appointed by 
     the President, who serve without pay. As profit-seeking, 
     privately managed entities, the funds represent a new 
     approach to foreign assistance and offer one answer to the 
     current impasse concerning the US foreign aid program in 
     general.
       The enterprise Fund's goal in Albania is to coinvest with 
     Albanians in small and midsized businesses to create 
     profitable enterprises. If successful, The Fund will assist 
     Albanian employment, reduce imports and help integrate 
     Albania into the global economic system. In addition to our 
     efforts, the US Agency for International Development is well 
     into a major program to assist with agriculture and housing 
     sector development. 

[[Page S13872]]
     The World Bank and other international financial institutions have 
     weighed in with infrastructure and privatization assistance. 
     Together we have the rare potential to work collectively with 
     a government to substantially improve the lives of its 
     people. Many problems remain. The transition from an isolated 
     society where nearly everyone was poor to a democracy where 
     there will be those with more than others will not be easy. 
     For example, the distinctions between equal opportunity and 
     equal outcome are no more easily understood in Albania than 
     is apparent from the current debate in the US over 
     affirmative action.
       On the political side, the US and Albania are beginning to 
     cooperate diplomatically and militarily on regional issues. 
     Albania occupies an important strategic position in the 
     southern Balkans and has begun to play a stabilizing role in 
     preventing the spread of the Bosnia conflict. As a long time 
     resident in a tough neighborhood, Albania can provide the US 
     with a vital local perspective. The bottom line is that 
     Albania, a tiny nation with which the US has previously had 
     virtually nonexistent relations, has the potential to become 
     an important ally with a growing comity of interests. In the 
     process, I believe we may be creating a model for future US 
     foreign policy that cuts across traditional political and 
     ideological lines. We are doing what we always say US foreign 
     policy is supposed to do--promote democracy and the 
     development of the private sector. And from a geostrategic 
     point of view we are establishing an important alliance in an 
     increasingly unstable region.
       When first appointed to the enterprise fund board, I must 
     admit I had to look at a map to see exactly where Albania 
     was. Albanian President Berisha will visit the US in 
     September. US policymakers should take the opportunity to 
     take out their maps. They may be surprised by the opportunity 
     for a bipartisan foreign policy success.

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