Democratic Party MP, Jorida Tabaku, participated today in the international conference organized by the International Republican Institute (IRI) on the topic "Countering Authoritarian Influence", where politicians, security experts and representatives from countries in the region were present.
Tabaku gave a speech focused on how democracies can build resistance to foreign interference and authoritarianism, emphasizing that the challenge does not begin outside the borders, but from the internal weaknesses of the state.
"It's not just external actors that are the problem. Foreign intervention only works where institutions are weak, where corruption is tolerated, where transparency is lacking, and where citizens lose trust in the state," Tabaku said.
Referring to the situation in Albania and the Western Balkans, the Democratic MP argued that corruption, money laundering, organized crime and state capture are no longer just issues of good governance, but now constitute direct risks to national security.
According to her, open economies should not be vulnerable economies.
"Economic security is national security. Energy security is national security. Technological security is national security. So is financial transparency," Tabaku emphasized, underlining that democracies must build mechanisms that prevent the creation of strategic dependencies.
In this context, Tabaku presented two of the initiatives she has supported during her parliamentary work.
The first relates to the creation of a modern framework for the screening of strategic foreign investments (FDI Screening), which would enable Albania to screen investments in critical sectors such as infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, ports, data and strategic technologies.
According to her, this mechanism does not aim to hinder investments, but to guarantee that economic openness does not turn into a strategic vulnerability.
Tabaku also stressed the importance of her proposed anti-corruption and anti-money laundering package, which includes increased transparency over the beneficial ownership of companies, stronger control of large financial transactions, transparency in public procurement, and measures to prevent the entry of illicit capital into strategic sectors of the economy.
A significant part of the speech was also dedicated to the role of technology in global geopolitical competition. Tabaku argued that artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, data and advanced technologies have now become elements of national power and that Albania must invest in building institutions that attract credible investment and foster innovation.
At the end of her speech, Tabaku called on international partners to judge the countries of the region on the concrete implementation of reforms and not on promises, while urging Western Balkan lawmakers to treat the fight against money laundering, transparency of beneficial ownership, and control of strategic investments as instruments for protecting the sovereignty of their countries.
"Foreign intervention is attracted to weakness. The strongest response a democracy can give is to build resistance through transparency, the rule of law, accountability and citizens' trust in institutions," Tabaku concluded.
