diologues
Saturday, 16 May 2015
Friday, 24 April 2015
Iran Ambasador Reception NationalDay-Ambassador of Iran Ali Reza Bikdeli
On te Occassion of aniversary of 36 th year of IranIslamicRevolution (National Day) I am invited by Iranian Ambassador Ankara Alireza Bigdeli to attend the ceremony that will be conducted at Turkish Capital (Ankara Swiss Hotel)
Monday, 2 March 2015
Monday, 23 February 2015
THE DIPLOMACY Interview With the Ambasador of Albania in Ankara
THE
DIPLOMACY
Interview With the
Ambasador of Albania in Ankara
FRAGRANT OASIS OF GROWING ALBANIA AND RISING TURKEY TODAY
Me ,H. Cigdem Yorgancioglu as a producer and presenter of
Radio-TV Diplomatic Programs and as a diplomatic columnist, it’s my honor to be
the guest of Ambassador of Albania in Ankara Mr. Genci Muçaj at the
Embassy.
We have been meeting with him on 28 November each year at
The Anatolian Hall of Swiss Hotel. Many Albanian students from all over Turkey,
many members of Parliament, business people doing business with Albania,
members of diplomatic corps in Ankara and guests from different walks of life
participating the celebration organized
by your Embassy, just about 1000 guests.
Targeting being properly
informed, rather than being
opinionated only, the main purpose of such diplomatic interviews are to
introduce the social, cultural life of foreign countries in Turkey well as
highlighting the intersection of mutual cultural, economic, political points between Turkey and Foreign countries.
I kindly ask Diplomats to inform readers and audiences
regarding the cultural, industrial, political significance, traditions of their
country. Besides getting recommendations for the traveller who intent to visit
those countries
Today, this is the time for 2 bird eye view tour to
South-Eastern Europe. The flag of a privileged location on the Adriatic, Flag
in Balkan Penisula namely Albania is waving on Turkish skies.
Excursion to Strategic aspects of Albania-Turkey
relationship on bunch of words in the treassury basket of sentences during our
interview. We shall talk about how Albania and Turkey shall achieve brighter
horizons within Turkey and globally.
Hundreds of distinguished fundamental questions coming to
mind from the recipe of Trilece to dynamics and analyzes of Albania Prime
Minister visit to Serbia. From the reasons of recent rattles between police in
Kosovo and protesters calling for the removal of a Serb minister alleged of
insulting Albanian war victims to identity of İlyran people as native Balkan
people. How the recent visit of the Pope Francis in Tirana strengthened
Albania’s comparative advantage in relation to other countries in the region
with the messages conveyed from him.
Questions to be asked are many
within limited time so as the narrowed interview here.
Genci Mucaj Chairman of Board of
Trustees of People to People International, Co-Founder and Member, Board of
Directors, Center for Albanian and American Studies, member of Rotary Club
Tirana, Albania.
He joined the Albanian Foreign
Service as Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs who served as Chief of
Staff to the Minister, and later, again as
Advisor. Later Director General, for Economic Corporation and Foreign
Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented Albania as National
Coordinator of the Regional Corporation Council (RCC), a Consortium of 12
Nations of the Eastern European Region Vice-President and member of Kristal
University Senate, Tirana, Albania Founder and Executive Director of Language
Schools in Albania, founder and CEO of Global Business Partners ltd, a
consulting company with world-wide connections, based in Tirana, Albania.
Ambassador Mucaj, serves on the board of numerous volunteer organizations.
He was born on 1969, graduated
from the University of Tirana, with specialization in English and American
History, Literature and Language studies. Married, with two children, ages
12(Fiona) and 17(Arbi). Albania Ambassador in Ankara also feels like ambassador
of Turkey all over the world too.
.
1. Two days ago on
Tuesday I was on the reception of 36th anniversary of the Islamic Republic of
Iran took place on Anatolian Hall of Swiss Hotel where I have been joining
Albanian National Day reception since 2013.
I do remember a year ago you as Albanian non-resident ambassador to
Tehran met with President Hassan Rouhani and submitted your credentials to the
President. So, I suppose you as “Plenipotentiary Ambassador” your domain is not
only limited with Turkey. How long have you been in Ankara as Ambassador of the Republic of Albania in
Turkey and Plenipotentiary to other countries in your domain ?
I resumed duty on March 1st 2013, but in December 2012 I was
decreed by the President of Albania as Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Turkey (Resident), and to the Republic of
Azerbaijan, the Republic of Georgia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Kirghizstan (the latter Non-Resident).
2. I was impressed with the Educational
and Humanitarian Missions /activities you get involved in, would you please
kindly mention those a bit?
I have been and lead several Educational and Humanitarian
Missions of understanding with People to People International, to the Kingdom
of Nepal, Peoples Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and the Arab Republic
of Egypt. Currently as family we are supporting children’s education in
different parts of world.
3. Having reviewed your bio, you as “A
world traveler”, the first thing my eyes caught due to selective perception as
I have also been in 101 different countries.
How many countries have you visited during your diplomatic, educational,
business and professional life?
Probably not more than 101 but quite a lot even I have lost
count on them. There are countries which I have visited numerous times. Lots of
interesting things I have seen, meanwhile never forget observing people in
South Korea respecting elders like we do. Ancestors are important for
Albanians. Deceased family members have a sustained and persistent existence on
our presence.
I take great interest in the affairs of the world and
possess the ability to influence the present and future of the living in the
society. We do believe, family loyalty, and permanency of the family lineage
are important cultivating and nurturing affiliation values are quite important
to keep the moral values of the society and nation as well.
4. How do you think that your
assignment to Turkey was beneficial to your career as diplomat?
Turkey is very dynamic country. There is a noteworthy ground
for triggering economic, cultural and commercial cooperation. Therefore I
believe it has become very beneficial for my career.
5. What was your first impression about
Turkey in the beginning and what changed within time?
I do feel like home here. I feel like I am not only the
Albanian Ambassador in Turkey, but also of Turkey while visiting other
countries anywhere in the world. I speak highly about Turkey and Turkish people
too.
6. What are the three main areas of
priority of the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Turkey?
First, bilateral relationship, secondly Economical
Diplomacy, thirdly Cultural Diplomacy.
Both Albania and Turkey are full
members of NATO. Turkey and Albania have common roadmaps in many international
issues. Cooperation in the arena of defense constitutes a robust dimension of
Turkish-Albanian bilateral relations. Teams allocated by the Turkish Land,
Naval and Air Forces have been training Albanian Armed Forces and supporting
them in logistics and modernization aspects, while Albanian soldiers assigned
to Afghanistan within NATO agenda are serving their mandate within the Turkish
troops deployed in this geography.
Turkey and Albania enjoyed
progressively magnificent relations for many years and entering in higher level
of partnership, with Document of Strategic Partnership. Such agreements
intensify political, economic and cultural relations. Currently there are 170
effective agreements between Turkey and Albania
7. What are some of the advantages to
do business in Albania?
With the implementation of a new
fiscal package at the start of 2014, the Government has announced a number of
new amicable business initiatives such as NO VAT(Value Added Tax) on machinery
value over 360,000 € that is used to increase efficiency, NO TAXES on small
businesses with an annual turnover of 2 million ALL or less (€0 – €14,000) •
LOW TAXES of 7.5% for businesses with an annual turnover between 2 and 8
million ALL (€14,000 – €56,000) • NO EXCISE on the fuel used by oil-producing
companies. On April 11, 2014, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised
its outlook on the Republic of Albania to stable from negative. In the Heritage
Foundation’s 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, Albania’s score enhanced to 66.9
out of 100, creating its economy the 54th freest economy in the world. Its
overall score increased as a result of clear improvements in its investment and
trade freedom. The improvements mean that Albania is now ranked above 18 European
countries with an overall score that is exceeding the world average.
8. In this connotation how the Albanian
Turkey business ties are be strengthened?
Globally, Albania has a good
performance and is ranked 14th out of 189 economies related to investor’s
protection. Though Turkey is not major economic partners (4th major country)
the ties are quite strong. Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and Albania is
important as well for enhancing the trade between 2 countries. Surely Albania
is more open to investor after experiencing transition period from centrally
planned economy to an open market economy. .With the EU ambition in
concentration Government of Albania has committed itself to create a more
competitive investment climate by undertaking qualitative changes in procedures
and legislation together with the structural reforms
9. Currently, my
attention is focused the Global Energy Projects also acting as one of Turkish
Civil Society representative of EBRD, in this connotation knowing the fact that
Albania is the supreme dynamic renewable energy country in Europe via strong
political commitment and an ambitious national strategy, the Government has
placed renewable energy at the top of the country’s development agenda?
Albania has a significant volume
of oil reserves, producing more than 1.2 million tons in 2013. The government
has an encouraging policy to charm foreign investment in its natural resource
sector. The Albanian oil, gas and byproducts market is a free and open,
liberalized market, predominately functioned and run by private companies, and
where the Government of Albania plays only a regulatory role.
10. What are the other sources of energy
in Albania?
Water resources are amongst the
most imperative natural resources in Albania. Eight large rivers, fed by
hundreds of smaller rivers and streams, run through the country from the
mountainous East to the Adriatic and Ionian Seas in the West. The average
height of the hydro graphic territory of Albania is about 700 m above sea
level. As Albania is part of the Mediterranean climatic zone, with a hot, dry
summer followed by a relatively short and mild winter. Thus, the country has
very favorable conditions for the improvement of solar energy. Albania has
untouched wind power potential, especially along the Adriatic Coast where it
has a number of areas with very high wind energy potential. Key facts to note
include: • Average annual wind speed of 6-8 m/s. Average energy density of
250¬600 W/m2 • Potential for at least 20 oleic electricity centrals Several
domestic and foreign investors are licensed to explore wind power production in
Albania with the construction of a 150 MW wind farm in the pipeline. By 2020,
the Government would like to generate 5% of total electricity from wind sources
11. Again while reviewing
EBRD periodicals met with several road projects in Albania. The north-south
route of Albania is one of the leading arteries of the country’s road network.
Beginning on the border of Montenegro and ending on the Greek border, it covers
more than 80% of the populated area and 90% of industrial, agricultural and
coastal activities. So what is the main objective of this “Blue-Highway Concept
“project?
The objective is to establish a
sustainable transport route in line with European and international standards,
and to contribute to the establishment of a unique economic area on national,
regional and pan-European levels. A feasibility study and detailed design for
the whole corridor is required for this project.
12. How the cultural ties can be strengthened
and what kind of activities are performed to enhance both Albanian and Turkish
national assets?
The overall typical
characteristic of the bilateral relationships between Turkey and Albania is
based on mutual alliance, faith and solidarity. There are 11 sister cities in
Turkey and Albania. Turkish National Language Institute is to publish Professor
Necip Alpan Turkish-Albanian-Turkish Dictionary. This would be one the greatest
works which will enrich both Albanian and Turkish national assets and certainly
help strengthen our relation. We are actually quite happy to receive full
support from President of Turkish Language Institute Prof. Mustafa S. Kacalin
in publishing this life time work of 50 years.
13. I suppose the launch of Albanian
Cultural Centers in Ankara, Izmir , Istanbul and Bursa are
planned by Embassies of Albania and Kosova how is the recent activities
pertaining to this plan ?
Albanian and Turkey have long historical bounds between our
countries and these bounds are getting much resilient progressively. Each of
those centers aims to strengthen the bounds. All are ongoing and realized
projects, while Albanian Culture Center in Ankara (www.qksh.net) was officially
opened on 19 February 2015. Foreign Affair Minister of Kosova was also present
in the opening ceremony attracting a lot of Media coverage. A delegation from
Albanian Parliament already visited Albanian Cultural Center in Ankara and
thousands of people have visited the center already. Besides hope to launch a
new Center in Izmir, on November 28th 2015 for the Albanian Flag day.
14. Kosovo declared independence from
Serbia in 2008, so far obtained international recognition as a sovereign state
from about 108 countries. However, Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo's
independence. We know Turkey and Albania
recognized on the same date 18 February 2008 Does Albania have special effort
for the recognition of Kosovo worldwide or any support provided to the
activities of Kosovo?
We always support Kosova from the first day both domestically
and globally. Albanians in Kosova are the predominate majority, so they are our
brothers and sisters of the same family, unfortunately has divided them for
almost a century. We will always be on their support. A nation can never find
peace if parts of its body are not united.
15. The significant
number of Turkish citizens of Albanian origin living in Turkey and of Albanians
who chose to stay in Turkey owing to education, employment, health or marriage ties; the growing size of the
Turkish community settling in Albania, either as employers or professionals,
fortifying the cooperation potential of the two countries. How many Albanians lived in Turkey and what
is your personal impression how many of them (percentage) were say “I am proud
to be Albanian” if they were asked in questionnaire?
We estimate approximately 5 Million but there’s no official
accurate numbers. 100% of Albanians are proud of being Albanian. No question on
that.
16. How is social media strategy of
Albanian Embassy here in Turkey?
Albania is an open society where all people can live freely
without fear of unequal treatment and speaks freely and use social media
effectively. We do the same as Albanian Embassy with full respect to the rights
of involving correspondents.
17. Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy and
Islam are 3 categories of religion of Albania. Though most are Muslim in
Turkey, do members of 3 different religions unite in the cultural events
organized by the communities in Turkey and how?
People are born with nationality
not religion. Nationality brings people together not religion. The religion of
Albanians is Albanian. Although freedom of religion is protected by our
constitution, religion is not a way of living in Albania but an expression of
believe.
18. We aware of the fact
that, one of the Mayors of Albania was detained and arrested along with a
municipal official and a construction company manager. The corruption scandals
and cases have got national attention in the country determined to improve its
corruption record. Now fighting corruption remains a top priority for Albania,
and surely how do you avoid bullying as how do you deal with it when it
happens. My question is what would be the best measure to fight with the
corruption in Albania?
Having resilient policies that
are very pure and specific about what to do and not do in various state of
affairs is critical. Corruption is everywhere in the World. The best way to
deal with corruption is to prevent poverty, grow the economy other than
anti-corruption laws and legislations.
In the milieu of endorsing better property management, increasing
transparency and strengthening the fight against corruption, the Albanian
Government has created an inventory of state assets which can be accessed
online.
Meanwhile in spite of the diplomatic immunity, we are also
under periodical inspection in terms of transparency and our properties well as
income are controlled by the Government against any fraud and corruption.
19. Having watched your program on TRT
Haber “Ambassador in the Kitchen” promoting Albanian cuisine and culture. What
makes trilece so tasty ?
Tres leces cake, means , "three milks cake"
constitute milk of goat, sheep and cow.
Evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.
20. Albanian cuisine is meat-oriented like
Turkey what are the 3 mutual dishes with different names Turkey-Albanian comes
to your mind?
Let’s make it four. Köfte,kebap,baklava,börek and perhaps
many more. We also have a lot of words in common, but you need to know that it
is hard to define which is whose? We lived for many years under the same
empire.
21. How do you asses
Albania strategic position and how they shoulder responsibilities to progress
towards peace on Human Rights and Global Conflicts in Region such as Ukraine,
Syria, Libya, Middle East and its fight against recurrent and inflammatory
chronic disease ISIS?
Surely the conflict hotspots which have preoccupied the
world, such as Syria, Iraq, Libya, Middle East and its fight against ISIS, are
indisputable evidence of the major importance of human rights nowadays.
Albania, as a NATO member and EU candidate country,
intensely supports the respect for human rights and their universality. Based
on these successful accomplishments and after an intense diplomatic campaign on
October 21, 2014, for the first time, Albania was elected member of the Human
Rights Council, during the elections held at the UN General Assembly. Albania’s
membership to the Human Rights Council is first and foremost a responsibility
to the 193 UN member states, for the trust put in us to serve in this
imperative body, as well as an impetus for the further democratization of our
society.
In the UN system, human rights,
accompanied by the guarantee of peace, security and sustainable development,
constitute three significant pillars that are interconnected and reinforcing to
each other. The principal effort of the international community with regard to
the protection, respect and promotion of human rights was materialized with the
establishment of the Commission on Human Rights in 1946. Albania, which for
half-century witnessed one of the utmost cruel regimes in terms of violations
of human rights and a tormenting transition towards a democratic
state-building, aware and appreciates the prominence of respecting human
rights. Our bitter experience motivates us today to unconditionally support
every initiative and every country which contributes to and works for the
advancement and improvement of human rights.
22. How is the critical role of Albania
for peace settlement, preservation of human rights in this connotation?
My country has already a principally rich experience in
terms of encouraging regional peace and security, human rights and economic
development, in the internal and external dimension. Thanks to its geographical
position, rich cultural heritage and tolerant spirit, Albania has become a
model and promoter of dialogue, respect and religious cohabitation.
I am fully confident that membership in the Human Rights
Council is another opportunity for Albania to reveal its capacities and improve
the rate of implementation of national and international legislation regarding
the protection, respect and promotion of human rights.
This membership is also an expression of our accomplishments
in the pitch of freedom and democracy that almost a quarter-century ago, seemed
impossible. This inspires us to firmly continue our Euro-Atlantic path towards
building a democratic society, as the only alternative for Albania and the
region.
23. Albania such green wonders of wonders,
hit by some of the worst floods it has ever seen, compounded by tree clearances
and soil erosion in Albania and Europa. Reminds me a question regarding “How is
the agricultural investment policy of Country?
Primarily, Turkish Disaster and
Emergency Presidency AFAD donated 175.000$ in aid for the flooded families in
the south of Albania and this again shows the solidarity between Turkey and
Albania. I take this opportunity to
thank Turkish AFAD for their ongoing support.
There are many reasons to invest
in the agriculture sector in Albania: We
have fertile soil, a suitable climate and an abundant supply of water,
resulting in massive production potential , We produce a range of produce
including fruits and vegetables, cooking oils, nuts, herbs and spices, fish and
dairy products, The recent development - and future potential - of organic
agriculture, The rapid growth of national markets and the accessibility of
regional markets • Preferential trade agreements with the EU on the increase in
exports • 20,000 ha of agricultural land owned by the government Low labor wages, and a crossroad to EU
transportation roots.
İzmir Commodity Exchange (ITB)
signed a cooperation protocol agreement with Albanian Agribusiness Council
(KASH) to cultivate agricultural projects collectively. Madam Işınsu Kestelli,
the chairwoman of the board of ITB stated that Albania and Turkey shall work
cooperatively on every field related to agriculture. And "EU projects,
information exchange, joint attendance to the exposures and various platforms
shall be the major points of this partnership. The Electronic Platform funded
by ITB is due to be signed soon with Albanian Minister of Agriculture, which
will increase trading opportunities of Albanian Agriculture products in Turkey.
According KASH, there are 23 agricultural organizations, nearly
2000 agricultural entrepreneurs and more than 10.000 farmers within KASH. They
have brought people from different parts of Albania so that they can tell
what's done here when they are back to Albania. So the main point is to
introduce Albanian products and proliferate the trade volume between our
countries. Turkey is the main market for Albania because that we can get the
chance of selling our products to European countries.
I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the kind
cooperative approach Mr Genci Mucaj he delivered to me during our interview
H.Cigdem Yorgancioglu
http://www.cigdemyorgancioglu.org/
http://politikaakademisi.org/cigdem-yorgancioglu/
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