Italy has always been Albania's main advocate. Silvio Berlusconi has influenced this and can be considered among those world politicians who have valued Albania as a strategic partner in these years of transition towards an open society.
On January 23, 2002, Berlusconi made his first visit to Tirana where he was received by his former counterpart Fatos Nano. It was the time when the focus of the Italian government was the fight against illegal drug and human trafficking, a phenomenon that continued for years even after this visit.
Through Berlusconi's influence, Italy expanded its economic presence with investments in our country. Not only that, but as the president of one of the world's most famous football clubs, Milan, he influenced this team to play a friendly match with the Albanian National Team in September 2009.
On his second visit to Tirana, Berlusconi was received by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. And it was precisely the cavalier's charisma that turned Berisha into the object of his jokes, irony and jokes. During the visit that Berisha made to Rome in February 2010, he chose to speak Italian at the joint press conference.
Berlusconi teased him with jokes about his lack of knowledge of the Italian language. On this day that Berlusconi passed away at the age of 86, Albanian politics has also given praise for him. President Bajram Begaj, in a post on Twitter, writes: "Sad news! The friend of the Albanians, Silvio Berlusconi, dies. Rest in peace!"
Even Prime Minister Edi Rama considered him a friend of the Albanians. "Farewell President and good friend of Albania", writes the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, while appreciating the figure of Berlusconi, his personal friendship with him and the contribution to Albania and the Albanians, held a minute of silence in his memory.
According to him, Silvio Berlusconi was a great and precious friend of Albania, Kosovo, the Albanian nation and the DP.