Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj praised this Sunday the solidarity shown by Greece and Israel, following the devastating earthquake of November 26.
This appreciation was expressed to Mayor of Ioannina, Moses Elisaf, who is at the same time head of Jewish Community in this city.
Mayor Veliaj awarded the “Clock Tower” to Elisaf in the name of friendship, while he emphasised that Tirana and Ioannina have an extraordinary tradition of cooperation in years and that there are other things more important than every protocol and diplomacy between countries.
“We have thanked both the Greek government and the Israeli government, our friends who have helped us a lot. It was a tremendous solidarity and I believe that under such conditions, you realize that the humanism that unites us is stronger than any politics or debate we might have on a normal day, when you find out that on the day of need, the Greek, Italian and other neighbours are there for you. On the day of the disaster we discovered who our true friends and neighbours are, so thank you very much,” said Veliaj.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Ioannina stated that this meeting is the first step towards the strengthening of relations between two cities.