Mirjana Špoljarić Egger Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Assistant Administrator and Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of the Independent States of the is scheduled to arrive in Tirana on a two-day visit from 6-7 May 2022.

During her visit Ms. Špoljarić Egger will meet with Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama, cabinet ministers, international development partners, civil society, and UNDP partners at the local level.

Mrs. Špoljarić Egger and national and international partners will inaugurate the “Gjergj Kastrioti” school which hosts 110 pupils, 47 children and 13 teachers. This is one of over 60 education facilities rebuilt or reconstructed in the context of the EU4Schools Programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP in Albania. The Programme follows two key principles: #BuildBackBetter and #BuildBackTogether. The education facilities that are part of the programme were heavily affected by the earthquake that hit Albania in 2019.

The reconstruction site of the “Iliria” 9-year school and kindergarten in Kruja Municipality will be the next stop of the visit. The school was thoroughly destroyed by the earthquake and is now being rebuilt by UNDP thanks to funding from the Government of Croatia. The school, which is to be completed before the start of the next academic year, will host 156 pupils and 14 members of the academic staff.

Ms. Špoljarić Egger will also visit small businesses supported by UNDP following the November 2019 earthquake. She will witness first-hand the results of UNDP’s post-crisis economic recovery and resilience work through the internationally recognized “In Motion” methodology whose purpose is to help micro businesses improve their economic prospect and growth.

“Divjaka-Karavasta” National Park, where UNDP implements a number of interventions in the context of the GEF-financed project ‘’Enabling Financial Sustainability of Protected Areas in Albania”, will be the next stop of the UN Assistant Secretary General’s visit. The Park’s Visitor Information Center, the wild bird rehabilitation clinic - the first one in the Balkans - will feature highly in her agenda, witnessing to UNDP’s long-term support to the management of protected areas.

The final item on Ms. Špoljarić Egger’s agenda will be a visit to the Roman Amphitheatre of Durres, where she will be guided by “Udhetim I Lire”, a Youth NGO supported through the EU-funded and UNDP implemented Reload Regional Programme.

Media contacts:

Nora Kushti, Communications Specialist

nora.kushti@undp.org