BBC news report for Albania

It was the communist Albania, which the BBC correspondent had avoided even during these 20 years of democracy because of this image. After 30 years she decided to visit Saranda.

“Now I am approaching Saranda for the first time. I am on the hydrofoil, the Flying Dolphin, prepared for heat and poverty and boys begging for biros. And what was the last thing I expected to see? Sun umbrellas on the beach. Welcome to the Albanian Riviera. There is a promenade with cafes, bars, fairy lights, restaurants and tourist shops selling universal tourist tat. There are oleanders and palm trees and hibiscus and solanum. There are sunbeds. A water playpark. Carefree children diving from a platform on a jetty. And holidaymakers, although few of them apparently foreign visitors”, says the BBC correspondent.

After being surprised by what she sees in the Albanian Riviera, Julia says that regardless the development made in these 20 years, Albania has still a lot of work to do before entering the European Union.

The BBC correspondent underlines the infrastructure, fight against corruption and organized crime, as the most important duties. She also talks about the political developments, since the trip is one month after the June 23rd elections.

Langdon says that she feels optimism among the Albanians for the result of these elections, and she talks about the program of Albania’s next Prime Minister, Edi Rama, which, according to Langdon, has Tony Blair as a secret weapon for implementing it.

13 years after the visit in Albania, Blair returns to consult the new government that came after the recent elections. He is very popular and has offered his help in Albania’s European Union path.

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