The National Conference was organised by the Council of Europe in the framework of the project “Strengthening Local Government Structures and Cooperation of Local Elected Representatives in Albania”, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
The conference brought together Ministers, donors, local government representatives and experts to exchange on the latest developments regarding public administration and local government reforms.
Ms Claudia Luciani, Director of Democratic Governance at the Council of Europe, noted that Albania has embarked upon profound territorial and administrative reform with the assistance and active contribution of the international community. These reforms pave the way for further fruitful assistance to consolidate central and local government institutions. With the aid of Council of Europe toolkits, the Albanian authorities can further improve human resource management system at local level.
During the Conference, Swiss Ambassador Christoph Graf pointed out that “the root cause for the need for Public Administration Reform is of a political nature: political parties use the public sector to create employment. Political will is the crucial accelerator towards better services for citizens, as well as for reforms towards European integration”. From the Albanian side, Minister of State on Innovations and Public Administration Milena Harito and Minister of State on local Issues Bledar Çuçi sought to reassure the international partners of the government’s commitment to adopting the Public Administration Reform and modernising services all over the country.