United Nations Development Programme marks 30 years of presence in Albania

Tirana 20 October 2021: In the presence of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, cabinet ministers, representatives of diplomatic corps, international development partners, United Nations (UN) agencies, academia and civil society, UNDP marked its 30 years of presence in the country under the title: “30 Years with Albania”.
Further to marking UNDP’s 30th anniversary in the country, the event was also a celebration of the longstanding partnership between UNDP, Albania and its partners, and a commemoration of the progress made by the Government and people of Albania throughout these years.

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama speaking at the event

A video presented at the occasion provided a retrospective of the UNDP-Albania partnership since 1991, highlighting UNDP’s past and present contributions to Albania’s development priorities, ranging from the reduction of poverty, the strengthening of the rule of law, the empowerment of women and fight against domestic violence, the strengthening of human security, the creation of jobs, and the protection of the environment.
UNDP Resident Representative in Albania, Ms. Limya Eltayeb, said: “Over 30 years we have supported Albania in its transition to democracy, resilience, a more developed society, and to its aspirations for a sustainable green growth and continued key reforms in its path to EU accession. We are grateful for the partnerships that we have created over the years, for the leadership and the ownership of the Government of Albania. We are thankful for the trust and financing of the international development partners, for the collaboration with the National Parliament, the private sector, the academia, and the whole of society. The key to our successful partnership lies in the fact that it has been a long-term engagement and one that has evolved over time. We aim to continue walking side-by-side together until Albania reaches its goal of EU integration and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
The Prime Minister of Albania present at the event, while praising the role of UNDP throughout the 30 years in Albania underlined: “The  Programme has been present in some pivotal moments when we had to conceptualize reforms with profound impact, from territorial administrative reform to justice reform. One must not forget and it is worth noting that the Programme was also present when we had to cope with the floods, becoming an easily accessible bridge between the EU and the Albanian government, as it is actually today part of a major post-earthquake reconstruction pipelining all the pledges and contributions of various donors and in particular of the largest donor in this case, which is the EU. The program has been present during all of the most critical and key moments of this remarkable process of transformation our country has gone through – going from a completely closed dictatorship to a democracy in the making,” – said Rama.

UNDP’s office in Albania was inaugurated in 1991 by then Prime Minister of Albania Ylli Bufi with the goal to support Albania’s social, economic, and human development. Over the last 30 years, this goal has been translated into more than 500 projects implemented throughout the country and benefiting institutions and thousands of people.
The video shown at the event will be aired throughout social media to contribute to building the public’s awareness of the role and work of UNDP in the past, present, and future of Albania.