H.E. Riza Poda, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Albania to China, Awarded Global Fred Award for Public Service Excellence

GFA ceremony

GFA Winners

H.E. Riza Poda receiving the Global Fred Award Certificate

H.E. Riza Poda giving speech

H.E. Riza Poda giving speech

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, September 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the afternoon of 15 September 2026, the “Global Fred Award Ceremony & High-Level Forum on International Economy, Trade and Culture Cooperation” was grandly held at the Beijing Capital Club. More than one hundred diplomatic envoys, association leaders, experts, scholars, entrepreneurs and artists from across the globe gathered at the venue. This annual gala marks the highlight of honour conferral for the Global Fred Award, and also serves as an important platform to advance in-depth integration of international economy, trade and culture and promote pragmatic multilateral cooperation. H.E. Riza Poda, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Albania to China, was conferred the Global Fred Award for Public Service Excellence by Canada Global Fred Award & Certification for his outstanding achievements in global public diplomacy and transnational collaboration. This globally influential and authoritative award recognizes major contributions made in the field of public service, and past laureates include parliamentarians, diplomats and other distinguished figures from all walks of life.

H.E. Riza Poda is a senior diplomatic expert dedicated to regional cooperation between Central and Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, boasting rich overseas assignments and profound diplomatic experience. He has previously served as Consul General of Albania in Thessaloniki and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic. He concurrently held posts as Albania’s non-resident ambassador to Bangladesh, Viet Nam, Mongolia and Thailand. Having worked in multilateral diplomacy for many years, he has an in-depth understanding of the rules and development trends of Eurasian regional cooperation. Currently Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Albania to China, he has long been engaged on the front lines of bilateral cooperation between Albania and China and is fully committed to integrating Albania into the Asia-Pacific development landscape.

Since taking office, H.E. Riza Poda has upheld the cooperation philosophy of mutual benefit and win-win results. Focused on high-quality bilateral development between Albania and China, he has vigorously promoted economic and trade investment matching, in-depth cultural and tourism exchanges, sister-city development and other key initiatives, continuously strengthening bilateral diplomatic coordination between Europe and China and pragmatic cross-border economic and trade cooperation. He actively builds communication bridges between Albania and China, enhances political mutual trust, deepens industrial cooperation and expands channels for people-to-people exchanges. He effectively connects high-quality resources and characteristic industries of Albania with the Chinese market, laying a solid foundation for continuous upgrading of friendly bilateral relations between Albania and China and connectivity development across Eurasia, and enjoys extensive influence in China-Europe diplomacy and cross-border economy and trade.

At the award ceremony, H.E. Riza Poda formally received the Global Fred Award certificate, trophy and medal and delivered sincere acceptance remarks. Afterwards, he delivered a keynote speech titled “Opportunities for Economic, Trade and Cultural Cooperation with Albania”. Based on Albania’s geographical advantages, industrial foundation, investment potential and cultural features, he systematically introduced the current development status and cooperation space of key sectors including energy transition, cultural tourism development, infrastructure construction, agricultural processing and digital innovation in his country. He accurately interpreted new opportunities for two-way investment, industrial coordination and people-to-people exchanges between Albania and China, providing important references for Chinese and foreign participants present to explore cooperation opportunities and carry out two-way collaboration.

This award represents authoritative recognition by the Global Fred Award Jury Committee of H.E. Riza Poda’s years of dedication to public diplomacy, commitment to multilateral cooperation and achievements in promoting bilateral win-win outcomes. In the future, he will continue to engage in friendly cooperation between Albania and China, further expand cooperation dimensions and deepen cooperation connotations, facilitate in-depth integration of bilateral economy, trade and culture, and elevate Eurasian regional multilateral collaboration to a higher level.

Sharing the award stage with Ambassador Riza Poda were: H.E. Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy Hafez, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the League of Arab States Mission to China, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for Public Service Excellence; Zoran Poposki (North Macedonia), Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts at The Education University of Hong Kong, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for International Excellence Contribution; Professor Marcus Vinícius De Freitas (Brazil), Professor at China Foreign Affairs University and Member of the Maritime Arbitration Commission, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for International Excellence Contribution; Wu Jianjun (China), Vice Dean of the School of Information and Media, Beijing College of Politics and Law, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for AI Education Outstanding Contributor; Wu Zhuohao (China), Associate Professor at Communication University of China, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for AI Education Outstanding Contributor; Mr. Qi Chong, Chairman of the Global Oasis Climate Fund and Executive Director of Pando Finance Co., Ltd. (United States), recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for Outstanding Leadership. Those unable to attend the Beijing ceremony in person sent video acceptance remarks: Dr. Ranko Škrbić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Acting Rector of the University of Banja Luka, recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for International Excellence Contribution; and Paul Kallee-Grover (United Kingdom), Founder of Ki Partnerships Ltd and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), recipient of this year’s Global Fred Award for International Excellence Contribution.

Also present at the event were: Ms Gihan M. Abdel-Rahman, spouse of Ambassador Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy Hafez; Ms Ilda Poda, spouse of H.E. Ambassador Riza Poda of Albania to China; H.E. Siniša Berjan, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Bosnia and Herzegovina to China and previous Global Fred Award laureate; H.E. Branko Bulatović, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Montenegro to China; H.E. Miguel Humberto Lecaro Bárcenas, Ambassador of Panama to China; Mr Mohamed A. H. Ahmed, Deputy Chief of Mission of the League of Arab States Mission to China; Mr Mile Nikolić, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in China; Mr Mahdi El M. M. El Teer, Press Officer of the League of Arab States Mission to China; Mr. Xavier Michon-Lehnebach, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Global Alliance of Small and Medium Enterprises (France); Dai Jian, President of the Zhongguancun Social Organization Federation; Wang Ji, Director of the Council of the Haidian District People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Member of the Haidian District Overseas Chinese Federation; Xiao Hang, President of the Zhongguancun Haixinlian Emerging Industry Promotion Association; William Liu, China Representative of Canada Global Fred Award & Certification; Liu Yang, General Manager of Shuimu Xingchuang (Beijing) Technology Development Co., Ltd. at Zhongguancun (Daxing) International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone; Zang Xiaolong, Marketing Director of Beijing Overseas Market Development Base; Jiang Guangxue, General Manager of Beijing Capital Club; Professor Yuan Li, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Teaching and Research Office at Beijing College of Economics and Management and previous Global Fred Award laureate, together with more than one hundred guests worldwide. Meanwhile, past Global Fred Award winners Mr Ernie Klassen, Canadian Member of Parliament, and H.E. Sashko Nasev, Ambassador of North Macedonia to China, delivered congratulatory video messages to the forum.

Following the award presentation, the forum held in-depth discussions centred on the core theme of “International Economy, Trade and Culture Cooperation”. Guests shared insights and practical experience from their respective fields in a lively exchange. All participants gained valuable takeaways, and several preliminary letters of intent for cooperation were agreed upon during the forum. Serving as a cross-border, cross-industry dialogue platform united by honours and driven by economic, trade and cultural exchanges, the forum further boosted connectivity among stakeholders at home and abroad and laid a solid foundation for future multilateral international cooperation.

Josia Delabel
Fred Global Consulting Co.
info@fredaward.com
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