ALBANIA

The relations between Albania and Turkey together with common history, continues to experience a similar kinship with. This stable country of the Balkans is waiting for Turkish entrepreneurs to do business in common business areas.

Turkish and Albanian nations have an honorable past extending to the depths of history and a rich unit of experiment.

I believe exemplary relations between Turkey and Albania will be valid for the entire Balkan region in the future.

As The Marmara Group Foundation with our civil society identity we try to carry on further the relations between Albania and Turkey in every field with care and attention for decades.

When Great Atatürk sent the first Turkish Ambassador to Albania, he gave the following recommendations; "We love Albanian people. We know them as brothers. We want their state and nation to be strengthened and progressed seriously and precisely. We desire them to win the position that they deserve in the Balkans in an independent and secure matter. This is the basis of political relations between Turkey and Albania." These words are an alive testament for the Turkish State and the Turkish nation.

It should never be considered too much to try to say that the roots of our bonds are in the depths of history and above all, two nations are nourished by the will of themselves to develop their common values. Our countries have become open spaces for our people to help each other, to defend each other and to commiserate, as true friends do.

The Great Poet Mehmet Akif, who wrote our national anthem, is an intellectual with the Albanian origin. Şemsettin Sami Frasheri is a thinker who wrote the first encyclopedia in Turkey, had Albanian origins. Ali Sami Yen, who founded one of the most important sports club of my country Galatasaray, is also an Albanian sportsman.

No one knows or can predict the number of our Albanian citizens in the state, politics, bureaucracy, academic and working life, because they are the essential elements of the Turkish nation.

Turkey and Albania have become the expressions of friendship that is continuous and beneficial.

As The Marmara Group Foundation, we owe great debt of gratitude to the Albanian people. On June 9, 2017, the Former President deceased Bujar Nishani honored Dr. Akkan Suver with the "Special Merit Medal". As The Marmara Group Foundation, we regard this honor as being given to the great Turkish Nation in the presence of Dr. Akkan Suver.

The Albanian State has always been represented at a high level at the Eurasian Economic Summits we organize every year. The late President Bujar Nishani was commemorated at the 25th Eurasian Economic Summit, in which the former First Deputy Prime Minister Senida Mesi was present.

The Marmara Group Foundation owes its gratitude to the Albanian State.

We lost Bujar Nishani We lost Bujar Nishani (2012-2017), one of the Presidents of the Albanian State. During his Presidency, Bujar Nishani was a high figure who carried out exceptional work in the relations between Turkey and Albania. Bujar Nishani, who gained fame in his time with his great respect for democracy and human rights; He took part in the works of the Marmara Group Foundation and the Eurasian Economic Summit. Bujar Nishani, who wrote a letter to Dr. Akkan Suver before his death and explained his thoughts on the subjects of the 25th Eurasian Economic Summit, presented Dr. Akkan Suver with the High Merit Medal of the Albanian State in 2017. Marmara Group Foundation will never forget Bujar Nishani. We bow respectfully before his Great Memory.