Geneva, Switzerland—An Albanian Peace Council of Albanians living in Switzerland received its inauguration.
Because of the Covid pandemic, the inauguration was held online, with a limited number of people attending the event in the UPF office in Geneva on December 18, 2021.
The moderator, Dr. Gaqo Apostoli, the coordinator of Albanian Peace Councils in the Diaspora, welcomed the participants and introduced Heiner Handschin, the president of UPF-Switzerland, for a keynote address.
Mr. Handschin emphasized the strong three-decade-long links that Albania has with UPF and its associated organizations in Switzerland. He also mentioned the remarkable presence of over 220,000 Albanian-speaking diaspora, of which more than 150,000 are from Kosovo and about 70,000 are from Albania and other countries.
Congratulatory remarks were given by Dr. Eva Çipi, the chairwoman of UPF-Albania; Chantal Chételat Komagata, secretary general of UPF-Switzerland; and Ali Lacej, coordinator of the Albanian Peace Councils in the Balkans.
After a video presentation on UPF principles and activities around the world, Gani Rroshi, the secretary general of UPF-Albania, gave a report on UPF activities in Albania.
The event ended with the appointment ceremony of Dr. Asllan Karaj as the president of the Swiss Albanian Peace Council. He has been practicing law and tax law in the Karaj Consultancy since 2003 before various Swiss institutions and courts in the field of human rights, refugee law, and social insurance law. At the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Karaj was awarded the prestigious Ambassador for Peace certificate and thanked everybody for their trust and for his nomination.
Everyone welcomed his nomination and hoped for a fruitful continuation of the Swiss-Albanian UPF cooperation.
