Albania enjoys friendly and cooperative bilateral relations with the U.S. Pro-U.S. sentiment is widespread among the population. Even while the U.S., which had closed its mission to Albania in 1946, was being vilified by Communist propaganda during the Hoxha regime, ordinary Albanians remembered that Woodrow Wilson had protected Albanian independence in 1919. Albanians credit the U.S. bombing of Serbia in 1999 with saving thousands of Kosovar-Albanian lives.

In 2003, Albania and the U.S. signed and ratified a number of agreements, including a treaty on the Prevention of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Promotion of Defense and Military Relations; the Adriatic Charter; and an Agreement regarding the surrender of persons to the International Criminal Court. The U.S. strongly supports Albania's EU and NATO membership goals. Between 1991 and 2003, the U.S. has provided $358.62 million through the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act for Albania's humanitarian needs and economic and political transformation. In 2004, the U.S. expects to give over $28 million to Albania under the SEED program.

Despite its daunting problems at home, Albania has wholeheartedly supported the U.S. in the global war on terrorism, by freezing terrorist assets, shutting down suspect Islamic NGOs, expelling Islamic extremists, and providing military and diplomatic support for the U.S.-led actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy is located at 103 Tirana Rruga Elbasanit, Tirana; telephone: [355] (4) 247-285; facsimile: [355] (4) 232-222.