[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF US-ALBANIAN RELATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2011

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my warmest wishes to the 
people of Albania on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the 
re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and 
Albania. For more than 50 years, our countries were separated by more 
than just distance, and Albania lived in darkness. But, twenty years 
ago, the Albanian people threw off the yoke of repression and ushered 
in an era of democracy and freedom.
  I believe that the renewal of ties between the United States and 
Albania flowed naturally following the end of the dictatorship. With 
the strong hand of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States early 
last century, the European powers were not able to divide Albania among 
its neighbors, and Albania's territorial integrity and sovereignty were 
ensured.
  Today, our relations are strong and Albania has taken its rightful 
place within Europe and on the international scene. It has joined NATO 
and has begun the process of moving toward the European Union (EU). As 
a member of NATO, Albania has sent members of its armed forces to fight 
along side US and other countries' troops in the International Security 
Assistance Force in Afghanistan. And, it is my fervent hope that 
through continued democratic progress, Albania will someday soon join 
the EU.
  I have visited Albania many times since the early 1990s and have 
personally seen the immense progress the country has made. When I first 
walked the streets of Tirana, I was almost as likely to have seen a 
horse-drawn cart as a car driving down the streets and boulevards. 
Today, however, Albania's capital is a flourishing city and the country 
is full of life and has a European outlook.
  So, again, on this twentieth anniversary of the establishment of 
diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Albania, I would like to 
offer my congratulations and my best wishes for the next twenty years 
of friendship and progress.

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