Prime Minister Edi Rama was an honorary guest at the Annual Conference of the Eastern Bloc Commission in Berlin, a platform for German entrepreneurship, which brings together experts in security, economics and innovation, as well as representatives of the Bundestag, the Chancellery and the diplomatic corps.
In his speech, Rama said that war has returned to Europe and strategic competition has become global, while technology is transforming not only economies and political systems, but also the way societies connect with each other.
He also highlighted that demographic decline is reshaping entire regions, while a "demographic winter" is threatening Europe's near future.
"I am the greatest painter among prime ministers. The Western Balkans is an entire region surrounded by the European Union, physically designed in the heart of Europe, but excluded from the portrait of Europe," Rama said, among other things, in his speech.
Rama said that Europe needs the Western Balkans.
"Europe needs our region. This is because we are a region that has our own natural resources. These resources are coveted by Russia and China. But we belong to the European continent and we must develop together with the rest of Europe. We are moving quickly towards EU integration. We want to become part of the EU before this decade ends. We are making the greatest transformation in our history," Rama said, among other things.