Tirana, October 24, 2011 NOA/ Arlinda Koçi – Prime Minister Sali Berisha attended today morning the ceremony marking the establishment of Albania's first ICT training and resource center, PROTIK. This centre is a public-private partnership among several partners, the Government of Albania, the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), USAID, Microsoft Albania, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, and Albtelecom. This Centre will support the development and use of ICT innovations for small businesses and promote ICT sector growth in Albania.
Attending the ceremony were Minister of Innovation and ICT Genc Pollo, USAID/Albania Mission Director, Joseph Williams, and the Chairman of AADF, Michael Granoff, and representatives from Microsoft and Albtelecom and they signed the Memorandum of Understanding on opening of this Centre.
The prime minister appreciated the establishment of the PROTIK as of great importance for the qualification of the Albanian experts in pursuing the horizons of the digital world. Although the centre is small, emphasized the prime minister, it has a great role in encouragement of promotion of innovation which at present has been transformed into one of the main and powerful pillars of development of economy in the developed countries of the world.
Addressing the ceremony, PM Berisha said:
“In the context of our efforts for the digital Albania, today we sign a Memorandum of public-private partnership on which the PROTIK Centre opens.
I would like to express grateful thanks to the USAID/Albania Mission Director, Joseph Williams, for being the promoter of this centre. And I also thank the Albanian-American Development Foundation, Microsoft Albania and Albtelecom for the joint effort in opening this important centre today for the qualification of the Albanian experts in pursuing the horizons of the digital world. This centre is small, but it has a great role in encouragement of promotion of innovation which at present has been transformed into one of the main and powerful pillars of development of economy in the developed countries of the world.
While encouraging this centre, I appeal to its promoters and in the first place the Albanian-American Development Foundation to focus on this field in the future in the best interest of the country and nation.
I discussed on the new library during the meeting with my friend Granoff earlier today in my office and he had great ideas. The e-library is what Albania is lacking. Likewise, Tirana ICT Park can be a concrete work of the Fund, USAID, Microsoft and Albtelecom. The government is ready to approve the most favorable legal framework on it.
It was impressed during my recent New York visit by the summit that President Barack Obama and President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff hosted on “Open Government Partnership”. This is a new international initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency on the state administration in the best interest of the citizens. a.k/e.t/NOA
