Monday, 18 November, Tirana
Address of the President Xhaferi at the Conference organized in coordination with the American State Department on the topic “Religion as an Instrument of Peace”
Distinguished President of the Republic of Albania Meta,
Dear President of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania Ruçi,
Distinguished representatives of the neighbouring countries,
Dear Ambassador of the United States of America to Tirana,
Distinguished religious leaders,Ladies and gentlemen,
Not much time has passed since the last time I was here, at the Universal Peace Federation Summit, where I had the honour to speak on behalf of the Members of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and on my own behalf, on the topic "Peace, Security and Human Development in Southeast Europe", which considerably relates to the topic of today's Conference, "Religion as an Instrument of Peace". Certainly, the reference is to the common word - peace, which is an essential value, a universal and indispensable right of all humanity, regardless of religious, ethnic, racial, gender, cultural, social, economic, or any other categorization. Above all and absolute is the belonging to the group of humanity, as are the universal human rights and freedoms that should be enforced and practiced equally for all and by all. Because deprivation of a certain right or liberty will naturally lead to dissatisfaction, and this is the most moderate expression, but if it continues and expands, encompassing a growing group of dissatisfied, it will be reflected with larger scale conflicts, with a feeling of discrimination and understatement and then it will certainly turn into united resistance, towards the government, towards other religious groups, towards ethnic communities with regard to their religious affiliation, and to anyone who poses threat by disrespecting the right to practice a certain faith. However, one thing should be clear to us and we need to be very careful here. Practicing one religion can never be to the detriment of another; it can never be discriminating against another. Certainly, religious freedom is also subject to the general rules that apply to all citizens and should always be in line with the constitution, the laws in force, and in essence, if we scrutinize deeper, in line with the generally accepted universal rights and freedoms.
Dear friends,
The fact that we are gathered here today in the Republic of Albania contains in itself strong symbolism and at the same time sends a powerful message, that is, this country has been and remains to be unique, with a unique religious composition and at the same time an example of how different religions can live, coexist and act together in harmony. At the same time, it can be taken as a model for the implementation of the same inter-religious relations with the same mutual respect, as we can see here. That is why I find it very beneficial that religious leaders from Albania are present here with us, as well as the officials of the surrounding states, including experts and activists for religious freedoms from different parts of the world, because synergy, cooperation and filling in the gaps are essential to building humane societies, friendly to every individual, to every human being who should enjoy all the freedoms and universal rights established 70 years ago with the United Nations Charter. The obligation and commitment to the principles and goals of international law and justice and the rule of law based precisely on this international law is a guarantee of peace and security in the world. 
Safeguarding this peace and ensuring dignified living conditions are the responsibility of all politicians, all of us, who are in position of legislative, executive, judicial and presidential authority, but at the same time this is a responsibility of all the components of the social fabric: staffers from administration, professionals, academics, the media, civil society or religious communities and religious leaders. Of course, everyone in their field of action should contribute to building a harmonious society in which every individual will feel equal, respected and complete and, as a result, shall have the will to contribute more significantly in their own environment, and indirectly, in the society and the wider region.
Dear colleagues,
Religion, whichever one may be, if practiced as written, if interpreted in good faith, without the use of hate speech, underestimation, humiliation, discrimination and exclusion of those who are not part of that religion, can only produce kindness, understanding and respect for the different; but if it is interpreted for the attainment of dreary ends, for the discord of people and nations, it must be prevented and legally framed, again, always with regard to the right of belonging or converting to another religion, the right to freedom of thought and religion, but of course without imposing it by coercion, restriction or violence. Here, the main role is played by the legislator, the law enforcers, the religious leaders, always in coordination with each other for the purpose of achieving religious harmony and respect for the accepted laws. 
Therefore, I encourage any cooperation, any joint action between these social factors aimed at achieving mutual understanding and respect among people, for their rights and freedoms. I wish these forums of regional and interpersonal cooperation, promoting religion as an instrument of peace, to be successful and to overcome visible and invisible barriers, because the potential of human beings must not be hindered, the area of action should not be narrowed, on the contrary, it should be promoted and expanded with positive initiatives to improve the quality of life and freedoms in all aspects of humanity, without discrimination on the grounds of religion, ethnicity, race, gender, social, cultural or any other affiliation, we are all people with the same rights, obligations and freedoms.
Distinguished, thank you for your attention!