Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati attended the Conference for Security and Stability held in Rhodes on 8-9 September 2016.

This conference was attended by Foreign Ministers of EU member, candidate and Arab countries.

This initiative aims to pave the way for the creation of an annual forum for dialogue, with a view to build the necessary bridges for furthering cooperation between countries currently facing the migration flow and those it springs from.

The Rhodes Conference underlined the need for collective action to preserve security and stability in Europe and beyond, while addressing a range of issues, from the discussion on migration and migration crisis in conflict areas of Syria and Iraq, to ​​ radicalization and violent extremism, trafficking etc.

Minister Bushati, in his remarks on security challenges facing the geographic space of EU and Western Balkan countries, highlighted the contribution that Albania will provide to the NATO naval operation in the Aegean for the management of the migratory flow, as a common denominator to address the current situation of the European security. “The Western Balkans is located on the route whereby the fallout of the chaos in the South reaches North Western Europe. Yet, both the refugee crisis and the joint fight against terrorism demonstrate the interdependence of the northern shores of the Mediterranean and the southern ones. We have witnessed over the past few years new forms of cooperation, which have created space for joint success in key sectors, such as energy. I am confident that energy cooperation is exactly what can help us translate interdependence into stability and prosperity.”- Minister Bushati stated.

Ministers expressed the common will of EU, Western Balkan and Arab countries to face common challenges of migration crisis as partners, by responding in solidarity to the need for concrete cooperation and transforming collective responsibility into collective action. They underlined the importance of respecting international obligations and human rights in the provision of international protection and assistance to refugees, by strengthening security through effective border management, fighting organized crime and supporting host communities and transit countries.