{"id":4232,"date":"2026-03-19T17:46:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/?post_type=news&p=4232"},"modified":"2026-03-24T17:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:48:16","slug":"official-visit-of-grand-master-of-sovereign-order-of-malta-to-albania","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/news\/official-visit-of-grand-master-of-sovereign-order-of-malta-to-albania\/","title":{"rendered":"Official visit of Grand Master of Sovereign Order of Malta to Albania"},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-4232","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-news"],"acf":{"hidden_news":"no","evidence":"yes","focus_on":"yes","breaking":"yes","news_cover":{"id":4233,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-President-of-Albania.jpg"},"cover_image_copyrighted":false,"news_content":"
\n

The Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Fra\u2019 John T. Dunlap paid an official visit to Albania which marked the excellent relations, established at diplomatic level in 1994, but with historic precedents dating back to the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0visit started with\u00a0an\u00a0official meeting with the President of the Republic, Bajram\u00a0Begaj. During the\u00a0talks, the Grand Master\u00a0recalled with pleasure the\u00a0previous\u00a0meetings held in Rome in 2022 and 2024\u00a0and\u00a0praised Albania\u2019s constructive role in promoting stability in the Western Balkans and its\u00a0model\u00a0of peaceful coexistence between different religious\u00a0and ethnic\u00a0communities.<\/p>\n

The meeting focussed on\u00a0strengthening\u00a0humanitarian and health cooperation, with\u00a0particular reference\u00a0to preventive medicine interventions, health crisis management, and first-aid courses in schools. The Grand Master reiterated the Order\u2019s\u00a0constant\u00a0commitment in the country, emphasizing the importance of the recently signed\u00a0Memorandum of\u00a0Understanding between the Albanian Ministry of Defence and the Order. This\u00a0agreement\u00a0establishes\u00a0an operational framework to provide\u00a0medical specialty\u00a0training, in cooperation with CISOM (Order of Malta\u00a0Italian Relief Corps), for Albanian Civil Defence volunteers, thereby strengthening emergency preparedness in the country.<\/p>\n

The Grand Master\u00a0met with\u00a0the Speaker of the Parliament of Albania, Niko\u00a0Peleshi, focusing on cooperation and the role of humanitarian diplomacy in promoting peace and solidarity. During the meeting, the importance of social stability was emphasized,\u00a0indicating\u00a0a positive model of dialogue and mutual respect in Albanian religious coexistence.<\/p>\n

The Grand Master then visited the\u00a0Cemetery of the Martyrs\u00a0for the\u00a0wreath-laying\u00a0ceremony at the memorial. The\u00a0Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Tirana, Vasilika\u00a0Vjero,\u00a0and the Commander of the Republican Guard, Simon\u00a0Zereci,\u00a0took part in the tribute.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, Fra\u2019 John T. Dunlap met with Prime Minister Edi Rama, to whom he extended an invitation\u00a0to\u00a0visit\u00a0him in\u00a0Rome.\u00a0The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the\u00a0work\u00a0of the Order in Albania as well as\u00a0his call and support\u00a0for\u00a0its\u00a0further\u00a0strengthening.\u00a0Prime Minister Rama also highlighted the importance of interreligious dialogue and the need for a closer cooperation between Albania and the Order of Malta in\u00a0this area.\u00a0Expressing deep concern at the many armed conflicts and global humanitarian crises, the Grand Master hoped that diplomacy and the multilateral approach could contribute significantly to a more just and peaceful world.<\/p>\n

The visit\u00a0represented\u00a0a fundamental step\u00a0forward\u00a0in the\u00a0Order\u2019s\u00a0well established and active presence\u00a0in Albania, where\u00a0the\u00a0formation of the\u00a0first group of candidates for the future Albanian Delegation, the nucleus\u00a0for an Order\u2019s\u00a0association in the country, has\u00a0already been\u00a0initiated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","news_gallery":"yes","news_gallery_elements":[{"id":4235,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-President-of-Albania-Greetings-scaled-1.jpg"},{"id":4237,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-President-of-ALbania-Meeting-scaled-1.jpg"},{"id":4239,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-Speaker-fo-Parliament-Albania.jpg"},{"id":4241,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-Speaker-of-Parliament-Greetings.jpg"},{"id":4243,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-Speaker-of-Parliament-Meeting.jpg"},{"id":4245,"url":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2026\/03\/Grand-Master-and-Prime-Minister-Albania-scaled-1.jpg"}],"news_excerpt":"The Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Fra\u2019 John T. Dunlap paid an official visit to Albania which marked the excellent relations, established at diplomatic level in 1994, but with historic\u2026\r\n\r\n"},"news_categories":[{"id":10,"name":"News","slug":"news","description":"","link":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/news-categories\/news\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/4232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/4232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4247,"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/4232\/revisions\/4247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albaniaembassy.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}