As Top Channel announced exclusively on Tuesday, the US Department of State officially announced the visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Albania.
DASH says that Secretary Blinken will travel to Albania and Munich in Germany on February 14 and 17.
In Tirana, Secretary Blinken says DASH will reaffirm the strength of the United States' relationship with Albania, a key partner for stability in the Western Balkans and a strong ally in supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
More details are being learned about why US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Albania on February 15 and what messages he intends to convey.
Top Channel journalist Muhamed Veliu, referring to sources aware of this visit, reports that there are three purposes of coming to our country.
Thanks to Albania for hosting and sheltering over 2,000 Afghan refugees who came in 2021. It is also suggested the possibility of Antony Blinken going to Shengjin to see the place where the Afghans took refuge, talking with those Afghans who are still there there.
As if to thank and appreciate once again Albania's role in the Region and what our country produced as a temporary member of the Security Council.
Through this visit, Secretary Blinken intends to reiterate American support for the SPAK special prosecution.
As for who Blinken will meet in Tirana, it is suggested that only two meetings are foreseen in the agenda so far. With Prime Minister Edi Rama and the head of SPAK Altin Dumani.
However, the meeting agenda can change and include other people. Secretary Blinken will also meet with the staff of the American embassy in Tirana to thank for the transmission and implementation of DASH directives in strengthening Albanian democracy and fulfilling one of the priorities of the Biden administration, the fight against corruption at the global level.
Interesting from this visit, Top Channel journalist Muhamed Veliu emphasizes in his reporting for the central news edition, is another detail. Secretary Blinken is expected to be accompanied in Tirana by the former American ambassador to Albania, Yuri Kim, who already in DASH holds the position of Deputy Assistant to Secretary Blinken for Europe and Euro-Asia, a task which makes her engaged with the developments in our place.
After the visit to Tirana, Secretary Blinken will travel to Germany to participate in the Security Conference in Munich.
History of the visits of the American secretaries of state to Albania
1-James Baker June 22, 1991 2-Madeleine Albright February 19, 2000 3-Collin Powell September 25, 2003 4-Hillary Clinton November 1, 2012 5-John Kerry February 14, 2016.