
Prime Minister Edi Rama presented the "Big Star of Public Gratitude" medal to the Commander of NATO Operational Command, General Todd Daniel Wolters.
During his speech at the ceremony held at the Prime Minister, the head of government said that Europeans are curious about the close ties of Albanians with the United States.
"Sometimes our European friends feel a kind of curiosity about how it happens that Albania, Albanians are so pro-American. I'm sure that always if some of them are not familiar with our history we can look stupid to say the least, we can be everything but we are not stupid.
We are everything, but not stupid. We are here in this part of history so strongly connected to this ally and this friend, thanks to another part of history that broke off this relationship, which this year marks its 100th anniversary. It is the 100th anniversary of Albanian-American relations.
I encountered half a century of silence from the American side, and we being isolated. We3 started it where we left off in 1991 and a new cornerstone has already been laid, where we can celebrate the most fruitful relationship between the US and Albania. Sometimes it is very demanding. Sometimes it seems more challenging than we can handle. But ultimately it is improving for us. I never dare to ask American ambassadors what we learn from Albania, but we learn a lot from these extremely powerful and knowledgeable partners.
The armed forces are perhaps the best expression of our journey of learning, accompanied by American friends and allies. If today our armed forces have gone to a level that even the most optimistic would not have dared to imagine before, it has happened thanks to our American allies.