Newsroom
Head of OSCE Presence in Albania visits newly-appointed Minister of Environment
TIRANA 13 September 2001
TIRANA, 13 September 2001 (OSCE) - The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, visited yesterday the newly-appointed Albanian Minister for the Environment, Mr. Et'hem Ruka.
Ambassador Ahrens congratulated Mr. Ruka, stressing that the OSCE is and will be ready to give all assistance that might be needed in implementing the mandate of the newly created Ministry.
Ambassador Ahrens was the first representative of the international community to pay a visit to the new Minister, thus expressing his support to a Ministry now solely dedicated to the environment in Albania, whose establishment will bring the country one step closer to meeting European Union standards.
The OSCE Presence together with the Friends of Albania, an informal and open-ended group of interested donor countries and international organizations, gives environmental problems in Albania top priority. Such issues as chemical contamination, hazardous waste, illegal logging and air pollution not only affect the population's health, but also pose serious obstacles to the economic growth of the country and to the development of tourism.
OSCE looks at these concerns within the framework of its mandate for security, human rights and rule of law.
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For further information please contact the Press and Public Information Office, Rruga Donika Kastrioti, Vila 6, Tirana - Albania.Tel: +355-42 35 993 ext. 123 - Fax: +355-42 35 994 40002 - E-mail: oscepress@icc.al.eu.org
Ambassador Ahrens congratulated Mr. Ruka, stressing that the OSCE is and will be ready to give all assistance that might be needed in implementing the mandate of the newly created Ministry.
Ambassador Ahrens was the first representative of the international community to pay a visit to the new Minister, thus expressing his support to a Ministry now solely dedicated to the environment in Albania, whose establishment will bring the country one step closer to meeting European Union standards.
The OSCE Presence together with the Friends of Albania, an informal and open-ended group of interested donor countries and international organizations, gives environmental problems in Albania top priority. Such issues as chemical contamination, hazardous waste, illegal logging and air pollution not only affect the population's health, but also pose serious obstacles to the economic growth of the country and to the development of tourism.
OSCE looks at these concerns within the framework of its mandate for security, human rights and rule of law.
--
For further information please contact the Press and Public Information Office, Rruga Donika Kastrioti, Vila 6, Tirana - Albania.Tel: +355-42 35 993 ext. 123 - Fax: +355-42 35 994 40002 - E-mail: oscepress@icc.al.eu.org