Visit of the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Albania, Italy, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Holy See and Malta
From October 11 to 18, 2009, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, led an official delegation composed of the Honourable Senators Marcel Prud'homme, P.C., David Tkachuk and Elizabeth Hubley, to Albania, Italy, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Holy See and Malta.
In Tirana, Albania, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Bamir Topi, President of the Republic of Albania;
- His Excellency Sali Berisha, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania;
- Her Excellency Jozefina Topalli, Speaker of the Parliament;
- His Excellency Ilir Meta, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- His Excellency Ferdinand Xhaferri, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sport;
- His Excellency Dritan Prifti, Minister of the Economy, Trade and Energy;
- His Excellency Myqerem Tafaj, Minister of Education and Science;
- His Excellency Robert Bosch, Head of OSCE Presence in the Republic of Albania;
- Monsignor Rrok Mirdita, Archbishop of Durrës-Tirana;
- Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi, Bektashi Order of Sufi Dervishes;
- Grand Mufti Haxhi Selim Muça, Sunni Muslim Community;
- His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania, Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
- Mr. Suneel Gupta, Vice-president, Production and Operations, Bankers Petroleum Ltd.;
- Mr. Richard Ferguson, Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Bankers Petroleum Ltd.;
- Ms. Aurela Anastasi, Helsinki Committee on Human Rights;
- Ms. Elsa Ballauri, Albanian Human Rights Centre;
- Ms. Kozara Kati, Albanian Centre for Human Rights;
- Mr. Gjin Marku, Committee on NationWide Reconciliation; and
- Ms. Aferdita Prroni, Human Rights in Democracy Centre.
The delegation visited the Port of Durres where they met with:
- His Excellency Sokol Olldashi, Minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications;
- Mr. Eduard Ndreu, Director, Durres Port Authority; and
- Mr. Arben Ibroja, General Director of Port Customs, Custom Branch – Durres, Ministry of Finance.
The delegation visited the Bishtpalle Naval Base where they met with:
- Ms. Zana Xhuka, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Defence; and
- Rear Admiral Kudret Cela, Commander, Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania.
During the visit, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella signed a memorandum of agreement with his counterpart, Her Excellency Jozefina Topalli, to encourage and promote a strategic alliance between the ports in Atlantic Canada and Albania.
In Rome, Italy, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Gianfranco Fini, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Italy;
- Mr. Vannino Chiti, Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Italy; and
- Mr. Giulio Andreotti, Senator, Senate of the Republic of Italy.
The delegation also visited the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and met with:
- His Most Eminent Highness the Prince Fra' M. Festing, Grand Master, Sovereign Military Order of Malta;
- His Excellency Fra' John T. Dunlap, Member of the Sovereign Council; Sovereign Military Order of Malta; and
- Mr. John A. MacPherson, Member, Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
At the Holy See, the delegation celebrated the 40th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between Canada and the Holy See. They notably attended a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada. They also met with Monsignor Liam Bergin, Rector of the Pontifical Irish College.
In Malta, the delegation met with:
- His Excellency Louis Galea, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republic of Malta;
- Mr. Michael Frendo, M.P., House of Representatives, Republic of Malta;
- Mr. Mark Portelli, Chairman, Malta Maritime Authority;
- Mr. Chris Paris, Chief Executive Officer, Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation; and
- Mr. Pier Luca Demajo, Chief Executive Officer, M. Demajo Group.
The objectives of the visit were to:
- enhance relations between Canada and Albania, Italy, the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Holy See, and Malta;
- encourage ongoing parliamentary dialogue by further promoting parliamentary exchanges;
- highlight the range of Canada's interests in the region;
- discuss foreign policies with respect to issues of international and mutual interest;
- promote educational exchanges;
- promote research sharing in the area of agriculture;
- promote collaboration between container shipping ports; and
- pursue good relations in all fields of contact.