On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of US-Albania diplomatic relations, journalist Roland Qafoku, the author of the show “DEKALOG” on RTSH, promoted this Wednesday his book “American Ambassadors in Albania 1922-2022”. Prime Minister Edi Rama and US Ambassador Yuri Kim were also present at the promotion ceremony.

While presenting his book, journalist Qafoku said that the focus is on those who have run the US embassy in Albania since 1922, the year when diplomatic relations between the two countries were established, even though, according to him, the history of these relations dates back much earlier.

“Our relations were established in 1922, but the history of these relations dates back much earlier. If in 100 years in a row we continue to call the American ambassadors “stars”, this is related to only one reason, the American policy has triumphed in Albania because it has found the support of the people whose independence and justice have been violated in 110 years of statehood, that’s why we value American ambassadors so much. The view of the book is with those who ran the Embassy”, said Qafoku.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, while evaluating Qafoku’s book, said that Albania’s history is “inextricably” connected with the special relationship, as he called it, with the USA.

“A book that deserves congratulations and gratitude for the voluminous work and for bringing this work to light at an important moment such as the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the USA. Such a book would probably be absurd in any other European country, but not in Albania. The history of Albania is inextricably linked with this special relationship. It has been connected since the beginning of the time when this relationship was born as a result of a kind of “exit for God” of the USA for Albania and remains so even today, where the USA is very present in our daily life through their ambassadors who they have a presence and a role that would be incomprehensible in any other country, but that remains irreplaceable in Albania. This is about us, our history, our stages of development, our need for this relationship that is much deeper than it may appear and much more strategic than it may read at first sight, going up to to the absolute guarantee of the inviolability of our country”, said Rama.

Ambassador Yuri Kim, while considering the journalist’s book “excellent”, said that the job of the American ambassador in Albania is a special honor because “no one in the world is like an Albanian”.

“For every American Ambassador it is a great honor, a great honor, to be asked by the President of the United States, to represent our country to another country. For those of us who are able to come to Albania as Ambassador, it’s an even greater honor, and it is a very special honor. It is not because Albania is the biggest country, is the richest country, none of those things. But this is truly the most special country. There is nobody in the world like an Albanian. And the friendship that Americans have, that American Ambassadors are able to experience personally with you, is something truly unforgettable,” emphasized Kim.

/Klara Ruci/