The Government of Japan has  awarded to the Government of Albania a grant of 1 million Euro for the improvement of the premises and equipment of the National Historical Museum in Tirana, with the aim of contributing to the economic and social development of Albania through cultural promotion.

The agreement between the two governments was signed today in Tirana, by Elva Margariti, Minister of Culture and Takada Mitsuyuki, Ambassador of Japan to Albania.
Meanwhile, the Grant Agreement was signed between JICA and the National Historical Museum of Albania. The respective signatures were cast respectively by the Chief Representative of the Office for the Balkans of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ueki Masahiro and the Director of the National Historical Museum of Albania, Dorian Koçi.

The grant will fund the Project for the Improvement of Equipment for Conservation, Restoration and Exhibit Environment at the National Historical Museum of Albania, which will be implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in cooperation with the National Historical Museum.

Minister Margariti expressed gratitude for the support of the Japanese government. “This funding will contribute to the realization of better conditions for the preservation of artifacts, the provision of appropriate services for visitors to the National Historical Museum and the strengthening of the educational environment for future experts in universities and other institutions in Albania,” underlined Margariti.

The Ambassador of Japan in Albania, Takada Mitsuyuki, emphasized that the National Historical Museum is the main museum in the country that provides an overview of the history of Albania for local and foreign visitors.

The museum is an important educational institution for the younger generation, because through this Museum they can experience fragments of Albania’s past, he said.

The Representative of the Office for the Balkans of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Weki Masahiro, expressed his happiness for the signing of the Grant Agreement between the National Historical Museum and JICA. “The National Historical Museum is the largest and most important historical museum in Albania,” he recalled.
Mr. Masahiro said that the support is expected to contribute to the realization of better conditions for artifacts, in providing appropriate services for visitors of the National Historical Museum and in strengthening the educational environment for future experts in universities and other institutions in Albania”, stated Chief Representative of the Balkan Office of JICA.

 The Director of the National Historical Museum of Albania, Dorian Koçi praised this cooperation as an important step in the revitalization of the National Historical Museum which, as he said, is an emblem that carries the history and culture of Albania.