Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered a special lecture at the United Nations University, where, before an audience of students, academic staff, ambassadors, diplomatic representatives, Japanese officials, civil society representatives and members of the Albanian community in Japan, he presented Albania’s journey from communist isolation to European integration and the strengthening of its role as a reliable Euro-Atlantic ally.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Rama stressed that Albania is now in the most concrete phase of its European Union accession process, describing European integration not simply as a technical or political process, but as “a civilizational choice” and a transformative project for the Albanian state and society.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Distinguished Director and Professor Marwala,

Dear Excellencies, Ambassador Paquet,

Dear Jean Rique

Ladies and gentlemen, and dear students,

It is a true pleasure to be here today at the United Nations University in Tokyo, a city that embodies something Europe, Asia, and indeed the world need more than ever: the ability to combine memory with innovation, tradition with transformation, patience with ambition, and yes, sovereignty with multilateralism.

I come from a country that for decades was known as the North Korea of Europe. A country sealed off from this planet’s life, pretending there was no West and East, but only Albania versus the world. A country where the state did everything possible to isolate not only our borders but also our minds.

We had no friends except one: Maoist China. At the height of the Cultural Revolution, the dark spirit of the revolution crossed continents and found fertile ground in our own land. Intellectuals became targets. Independent thought became heresy. The past became an enemy to be eradicated. The future became a prison disguised as a promise.

We learned the hardest way what happens when ideology replaces reason, when fear replaces freedom, and when isolation replaces cooperation.

That is why, when communism collapsed, Albania’s choice was not merely political. It was existential. We chose democracy, openness, and the transatlantic bond. We chose Europe.

For us, European integration has never been a bureaucratic exercise or a technical negotiation, and neither has accession to a bloc. It is a national aspiration, a civilizational choice, a commitment to belong fully to a family of democratic nations that believe in peace, individual freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

Today, Albania stands closer than ever to the European Union, and we have never seen it so concrete and real at any moment in our modern history.

Following the opening of accession negotiations and the rapid advancement across negotiation clusters, we have entered the decisive phase of our European journey. Next week, we will have a key intergovernmental conference with the European Union, opening a new phase of closing the chapters, aiming to conclude the negotiations within a year and a half.

The road ahead remains very demanding and extremely challenging, but we have never been more determined, and we have never imagined, let alone thought about, a Plan B other than the European Union, because we are convinced that there is no Plan B to freedom. There is no Plan B to the rule of law. There is no Plan B to democracy.

And joining the European Union is exactly that. It is not about entering an organisation. It is about transforming a society from within. Building the institutions we never had, strengthening the rule of law, modernising the public administration, fighting corruption and organised crime, creating a state that serves citizens rather than citizens serving the state.

And beyond all this, giving ourselves a place in a space where freedom, security, and cooperation are the fundamental values and principles of coexistence.

One of the most profound chapters of our path toward this ambition has been our justice reform, one of the deepest and most difficult reforms Albania has ever undertaken.

Not because changing laws is difficult. Changing laws is easy. In Albania, it is easier than in Japan, by the way, to change laws. Changing habits, changing expectations, and changing entrenched systems is hard.

But reforms that matter are never easy. Easy reforms never matter.

Today, the European path remains the most powerful engine of transformation available to Albania.

I always repeat that what gives Albania, and not just Albania but the Western Balkans, a very real chance compared to Afghanistan, compared to Iraq, compared to other places where the collective West promised to bring freedom and democracy but the result was not, is exactly the difference between having or not having the European Union as a destination and as a companion on the road.

The European Union is the most incredible source of know-how for state-building that humanity has created, and transferring this know-how is what they do best.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine reminded Europe of something that, unfortunately, many had begun to take for granted. For the first time in its history, Europe had a generation that did not see any war.

So complacency became part of the way of living in the European Union, where peace was somehow taken for granted and considered self-sustaining, where democracy was seen as irreversible. Security, in fact, cannot be outsourced to history.

In this new reality, the full integration of the Western Balkans, and Albania in this case, into the EU is not simply our own question or simply a regional question. It is a strategic necessity for Europe itself. Because the future of Europe cannot be complete while a region surrounded by the borders of the European Union remains outside its political and institutional architecture.

Albania has demonstrated that it is not only a reliable and responsible partner, but also that it is so deeply in love with the European Union that nothing can change our minds. We want to marry. We insist, and we will. We are fully aligned with the European Union’s foreign and security policy. We are a committed NATO ally. We are deeply attached to the transatlantic relationship that has guaranteed Europe’s freedom and stability for generations.

Because if the European Union is our destination, the transatlantic bond remains one of the pillars upon which the security of that destination rests, and while our strategic compass points toward Europe, our curiosity and our partnerships extend far beyond Europe.

And this brings me here to Asia.

Because there is much everyone can learn from Asia, and there is much Europe can learn from Asia’s extraordinary transformation over the last half-century. There is much the Western Balkans can learn as well.

ASEAN offers a particularly valuable lesson. Its members are different in history, culture, language, religion, political systems, and economic development. Yet they have understood something profoundly important: cooperation does not require uniformity. Friendly relations do not require sameness.

Progress is not achieved by eliminating differences, but by managing them intelligently and using them as balancing forces.

And for a region like the Western Balkans, where history has often been more visible than the future, the wisdom of this region carries special relevance.

ASEAN teaches us that trust can be built gradually, prosperity can create stability, and neighbors do not need to agree on everything in order to move forward together.

This is a lesson worth remembering not only in the Balkans, but increasingly in many parts of the world. And if ASEAN offers lessons in regional cooperation, Japan offers lessons in something even more extraordinary: the power of resilience.

Few nations have experienced such devastation and achieved such renewal. Few nations have demonstrated such capacity to transform tragedy into strength, scarcity into innovation, and adversity into excellence. Japan reminds us that greatness is not measured by the absence of setbacks. It is measured by the ability to rise after them.

For Albania, Japan has been much more than a development partner. Japan has been a trusted friend. I want to remind everyone here that following the devastating earthquake of 2019, Japan stood by us, and we will never forget that.

Many Albanian professionals, public servants, researchers, and experts have benefited from Japanese training and educational programs. In a country undergoing profound transformation, human capital is perhaps the most important capital of all. But what makes Japan invaluable for us is the power of its example as a source of endless inspiration.

And in some ways, Japan has become an indirect but important partner in Albania’s European journey. Because European integration is not simply about negotiating chapters and transferring the European body of law into our country. It is about building institutions, improving standards, creating resilience, and developing a culture of excellence, and these are all areas where Japan’s support is very valuable.

What makes our relationship particularly meaningful is that despite the geographical distance separating our countries, we share very similar convictions: a belief in international cooperation, respect for democratic institutions, commitment to stability, confidence in education, faith in innovation, and perhaps above all, a belief that long-term success is built through patience and persistence rather than shortcuts. And in a world increasingly characterized by fragmentation, polarization, and impatience, these values have become strategic assets.

This is why institutions such as the United Nations University are so important, because ultimately integration is not only institutional. It is intellectual, cultural, and human.

Bridges of knowledge often prove more durable than bridges of steel, and conversations between societies frequently outlast agreements between governments.

The Albanian people remain deeply committed to our European future.

Indeed, Albania today is, based on the EU barometers and not simply on what I think, the most pro-European society on the continent. As I told you, we are in love.

So, from the North Korea of Europe to an EU candidate state and NATO ally within the arc of a lifetime is quite something. And from the shadows of the Cultural Revolution to the values of democratic Europe, from a country that once feared the world to a country determined to contribute to the world, it is quite something.

And that journey has taught us something very simple, but important:

History can shape a nation, but it does not have to define its destiny.

And Japan is maybe the shining example of that.

I was very aware that I had to make this speech on a Friday, and Friday is very dangerous for speeches because everyone is looking forward to leaving the building instead of attending a lecture. I did my best to be as serious as the Rector was expecting, but also not to lecture you as you were not expecting.

So here I conclude my remarks, and of course I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

And very happily, I would invite all of you here in Japan to come and visit our country.

I am sorry we did not succeed in bringing the sun to Tokyo. We have a lot of it back home, so come and enjoy it.

And while your food is unmatched, we still have the best food in the Western Balkans, and the Serbian ambassador would agree with me on that, although she will not say it loudly.

Thank you very much. It is a pleasure.