[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[August 26, 1992]
[Page 1434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1434]]


Statement on Signing Legislation Granting Most-Favored-Nation Trade 
Status to Albania
August 26, 1992

    Today I am signing into law H.J. Res. 507, approving the extension 
of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation status) to the 
Republic of Albania.
    The United States Government fully supports this resolution granting 
most-favored-nation (MFN) status to the Republic of Albania. The 
bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Albania, of 
which MFN is a key element, was transmitted to the Congress during 
Albanian President Berisha's visit to Washington in June and marks an 
historic point in Albanian-American relations.
    Albania elected its first post-communist government in free and fair 
elections held in March of this year after decades of self-imposed 
isolation. Since then the country has been struggling to convert to a 
free market economy. The extension of MFN status to Albania could 
provide an impetus to Albania's faltering economy and help the country's 
difficult transition from a command economy to a free market.
    The United States now enjoys a close, cooperative relationship with 
the Government of Albania, a government that is firmly committed to 
democracy and the free market.
    We hope that with our assistance, and that of its other friends, 
Albania can transform itself from an underdeveloped, closed, centralized 
society to a democratic country with a free market. A freer and more 
prosperous Albania can also be a stabilizing force in the volatile 
Balkan region.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
August 26, 1992.

                    Note: H.J. Res. 507, approved August 26, was 
                        assigned Public Law No. 102-363.