On Friday, Hungary donated 100,000 masks and 5,000 medical protective suits to Albania to help the country’s efforts against coronavirus.
The equipment was presented to Albania’s acting foreign minister Gent Cakaj by Hungarian foreign minister Pèter Szijjártó who visited Tirana today. They discussed Albania’s EU integration, Hungary’s support for the November earthquake reconstructions, and the fight against coronavirus.
Szijjártó congratulated Albania for the EU decision to open accession talks with the country. He underlined that this was a Hungarian success also, as it came under Hungarian commissioner for enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, and after eleven years of failure by the European Commission. Szijjártó urged the Albanian government and the EU to speed up negotiations.
Cakaj assured Szijjártó that Albania is fully prepared to advance negotiations. However, before the First Intergovernmental Conference, which marks the start of EU-Albania talks in practice, Albania is expected to make concrete progress in several crucial issues.
The Hungarian minister has presented similar aid in masks and protective suits to Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia this month.
Minister Szijjártó also met with the Albanian opposition leader Lulzim Basha at the airport. Basha expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Victor Orban’s government for its support, and asked for more help for Albanians to overcome the economic crises caused by coronavirus.
President Meta also thanked Hungary for the aid in a tweet.
