On 4–5 March 2020, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Jacek Czaputowicz; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius; and the Undersecretary for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Märt Volmer, visited Tirana in Albania and met with senior Albanian officials.
In a conversation with the President of Albania, Ilir Meta, Minister Rinkēvičs pointed out that Albania has made a significant progress with reforms and met the criteria set by the Council; therefore, Latvia supports the opening of EU accession negotiations. At the same time, the Minister noted that political dialogue was vital for the further course of reforms, their stability and sustainability.
The Baltic and Polish Foreign Ministers also met with the Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, and the Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Gent Cakaj. A discussion with the Committees on Foreign Policy and European Integration at the Albanian Parliament addressed Albania’s integration with the European Union and the issues of NATO and security policy.
The Latvian Foreign Minister called for taking advantage of current positive moment to move ahead with EU integration; he expressed strong support for opening EU accession negotiations with Albania this March, in view of the European Commission’s update on Albania’s reform process and a positive recommendation to begin the talks. Edgars Rinkēvičs thanked Albania for its participation in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Latvia.
In a meeting with students at the University of Tirana, the Ministers discussed the latest developments in the Western Balkans region and Albania’s integration with the EU.