The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati is participating in the proceedings of Vienna Summit for the Western Balkans, as part of the delegation of the Republic of Albania headed by the Prime Minister, Edi Rama, which also includes the Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship Mr. Arben Ahmetaj.

This summit follows last year’s  Berlin Summit and aims particularly at advancing the agenda on infrastructural, road and energy interconnection among regional countries and EU, deepening cooperation on issues dealing with youth education, qualification, employment and movement, addressing issues in bilateral relations, as well as challenges faced by Western Balkans and EU countries.

On the first day of activities in Vienna, dedicated to the role of civil society, Minister Bushati attended the proceedings of the first session on "The role of EU in solving bilateral disputes in the Western Balkans, tackling tomorrow’s issues today”.

In his speech, Minister Bushati highlighted that: "Bilateral issues in the past have hindered EU accession process and questioned its credibility and predictability. To avoid all ambiguity, it is crucial to tackle bilateral issues at an early stage of EU accession and couple solution mechanisms with EU incentives, including instruments to support economic development".

Today, the Prime Minister Edi Rama will participate in the Civil Society Forum, which will focus on regional cooperation and the role of civil society. During this meeting, the agreement for opening the office of regional youth cooperation, on the initiative of Prime Ministers Rama and Vucic, will also be promoted.