03 May 2003
U.S., Albania Sign International Criminal Court Article 98 Agreement
(Secretary of State Powell, Albania's Prime Minister Nano sign in
Tirana) (1260)
Secretary of State Colin Powell and Albania's Prime Minister Fatos
Nano joined May 2 in Tirana in signing an Article 98 agreement between
the two countries, relating to provisions of the International
Criminal Court.
Following is a State Department transcript of a briefing conducted by
Nano and Powell at the signing ceremony:
(begin transcript)
Remarks at the Article 98 Signing Ceremony
Secretary Colin L. Powell
With Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano
Tirana, Albania
May 2, 2003
MODERATOR: Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Powell will sign the Agreement between the Republic of
Albania and the United States of America on the cooperation modalities
between our two countries in relation to the International Criminal
Court.
PRIME MINISTER NANO: What we did today is a further step toward
strengthening strategic partnership with the United States, but in the
meantime a new step towards Europe and Euro-Atlantic standards and
institutions. I believe this is an important event in parallel with
another tri-lateral with the U.S. as a leader again: treaty we will
sign for regional cooperation towards the same values, institutions
and goals. So, I feel really commotional on behalf of the Albanian
people that look towards continued partnership with the United States
as one of the mainstream interests of their future.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. It's a
great pleasure for me to be here in Tirana and have this opportunity
to sign this Article 98 Agreement between our two nations. As you said
it does show the closeness of the relationship that we enjoy,
relationships that will grow even closer in the months and years
ahead.
A little bit later on, we will be signing the Adriatic Charter, which
will align the United States with the three other nations that will be
signing the Charter in a partnership that we hope will improve the
possibilities for economic, and political and social development and
move the three countries in the direction of eventual membership in
NATO and the European Union.
Article 98 Agreement was an important one for us. We are not
signatories of the Rome Treaty any longer, and Albania is, but this
was a case where we came to an understanding of our mutual interest
and our needs were such on the Article 98 Agreement, which is
consistent with the Rome Statute. So Mr. Prime Minister, I thank you
for your understanding and for this expression of friendship toward
the United States, and pleased to be able to reciprocate. Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, why was Albania chosen for the Charter
signature, taking into consideration, it was first planned Washington.
And, to the Prime Minister, how did you react to this step?
SECRETARY POWELL: If I understood the question is why was Albania
considered? It seemed an appropriate place to do it, and an
appropriate moment to do it.
I am on a trip that covers both Europe and moving into Syria this
evening. And it was something I have been wanting to do for some time,
to visit Albania and we knew that the Charter was ready, all of the
differences that had been discussed over the months have been
resolved, and so it was an excellent document, and I could think of no
better place to do it than Albania. So I rearranged my entire trip so
that I could come here and join with leaders from Croatia and
Macedonia and sign the Charter here. And I think it is an expression
of our friendship toward Albania, as well as to Croatia and Macedonia.
PRIME MINISTER NANO: Well, I believe Secretary Powell has rewarded
Albanian political, social and institutional efforts to this huge
transformation from consumer of stability to reinforcer of regional
and global stability as we have shown in Bosnia, Afghanistan and
actually in Iraq as members of the coalition of the willing. So
Albania is becoming definitely a reliable partner to co-share the same
Euro-Atlantic values.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, what is this visit of yours going to bring
in the processes of integration for which Albania has spent all its
energies? Anita Hoxha from Albanian Public television. And for you Mr.
Prime Minister, could you please tell us some more details of your
tête-à-tête meeting with the Secretary Powell?
SECRETARY POWELL: When I consider where we were just, say a dozen
years ago -- when it was still the Cold War and I was Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces, and I still
looked across an iron curtain -- to where we are now, when I am here
as the Secretary of State of the United States of America. I have seen
the Cold War come to an end, and I have seen the iron curtain go away,
and I have seen the integration of Europe into a new Europe that is
whole, free and at peace, to quote from President Bush's speech that
he gave a couple of years ago in Poland.
We have a vision of the Europe that is whole, free and at peace, that
is linked in the great transatlantic community that includes the
United States and Canada. The piece that still remains to be done is
here, in Southeast Europe. So with the Charter signature today, with
the kind of cooperation we have received, especially from Albania in
our war against terrorism and our efforts to free the Iraqi people,
with Albanian soldiers on the ground in Iraq helping us, with Albanian
soldiers in Afghanistan helping us, it is all indicative of the
direction which Albania wishes to go to be part of this integrated
Europe, whole, free, in peace as part of the Euro-Atlantic
partnership.
And so, through my visit and through the good wishes of President
Bush, we are saying to the Albanian people and the Albanian
Government, "stay with us, keep pressing ahead, keep pressing ahead
with political reform, with economic reform, with putting your society
in your country on the basis of rule of law, and you will find that
you have many friends that are willing to help you, and help you
achieve the dreams of the Albanian people for living in that kind of
country, that kind of society." So this really is a visit that I hope
the Albanian people will see as an act of friendship.
PRIME MINISTER NANO: The Secretary and I exchanged views on priorities
Albania and the region has. In this optic I committed this government
in a renewed way for strong domestic reform that will bring Albania
closer to Euro-Atlantic standards and to modern values.
So the best foreign policy we could share with the United States and
other global partners is a strong domestic policy oriented to
Euro-Atlantic reform. We agreed that we should continue stepping up in
the fight against corruption, organized crime, and illegal trafficking
that still cross Albania and the region. We will continue playing our
positive and moderate role in strengthening regional cooperation,
regional stability and move of the region towards the same global
goals and values.
I guaranteed Secretary Powell that Albanian politics, government and
society look with due sympathy to presence, to continued assistance
and to increased monitoring by U.S. agencies and U.S. Government in
reaching these common goals. Thank you.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
