President Bush arrived in Albania yesterday to the kind of international reception American politicians dream of but rarely experience.

He was met at Tirana airport by a ceremonial guard dressed in the Albanian national colours of red and black, while a 21-gun salute boomed around the nearby mountains.

The road from Tirana airport was bedecked in giant banners emblazoned with the Albanian and American flags, proclaiming “President Bush in Albania Making History”.

Downtown Tirana was jammed with thousands of wellwishers waving American flags and wearing red, white and blue paper hats decorated with stars. The post office has issued three new commemorative stamps featuring the President and the Statue of Liberty. A street in central Tirana has been renamed in his honour.

Albanian state television has broadcast eight half-hour programmes on the US-Albanian relationship. “For us the United States represents a dream of freedom. We were sealed off from the outside world for 40 years, so we are very happy that President Bush is coming here,” said George, a businessman in his twenties.

Sali Berisha, the Prime Minister, said: “Among us is the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had, the President of the United States of America, the leading country of the free world.” Mr Bush replied: “I love to come to countries that are working hard to establish the institutions for democracy to survive,” he said.

While President Bush’s stop-overs elsewhere in Europe have been marked by protests, his seven-hour visit to mainly Muslim Albania has triggered joy. The pyramid-shaped museum that was once dedicated to the former dictator Enver Hoxha is draped with Albanian and US flags and a giant poster of President Bush.

Grid Rojji, the director of information, said: “Albanians love America for historical reasons. The United States has always supported our freedom and self-determination. President Bush’s visit is an opportunity for us to show our excellent bilateral relations and how much Albanians love the United States.”

The love affair was sealed in 1999 when Nato bombed Serbia to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

Speaking in Tirana President Bush again called for Kosovo to be independent: “At some point in time you’ve got to say ‘Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent’, and that’s the position we’ve taken.”

Albania is a rare Muslim-majority country that actively supports the US War on Terror. It is the only country to accept former prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including several Uighur Chinese Muslims, and two north Africans. Tom Ridge, the former US Homeland Security Chief, is an adviser to Mr Berisha. Although Albania is usually included with the Balkan countries such as Serbia and Bulgaria, its ancient Roman heritage and Mediterranean coastline have fostered a different perspective. While its neighbours tend to look inwards, Albania has always looked to the sea, and dreamt of the West, say Albanians.

Civil society activists accuse Mr Berisha of authoritarianism. Activists fear that he will exploit President Bush’s visit for political purposes. “Berisha is an archetypal Balkan leader. He pays lip service to Brussels and Washington and treats them like his electorate. But the people here know what is going on,” says Erion Veliaj, the director of Mjaft, a national youth civil society movement.

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