Israel and Albania signed a joint declaration of friendship marking 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The signing was made during a meeting in Jerusalem between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.

During a press conference, Netanyahu thanked Albania, a Muslim majority country, for their steadfast support of Israel.

“I think Albania is the only country whose Jewish population during the Holocaust actually grew because of the refuge and the sanctuary and the friendship and courage showed by the people of Albania. We never forget our friends, and we appreciate that display of humanity, civility and courage in our darkest hours,” Netanyahu said.

Rama expressed an interest in strengthening bilateral relations with Israel in the fields of security, cyber, water, energy and innovation.

The Albanian Prime Minister also noted that his country would be pleased to learn from Israel's successes in innovation and added that he would like to encourage Israeli businesspeople to invest in Albania.

"It is very meaningful to me, to be here as the Prime Minister of Albania, because of our proud history of saving Jewish people during the Second World War, and I believe we need to do more to tell this story, because there are parts of it that are very revealing such as the many Muslim families who saved Jews,’’ Rama said.

Netanyahu said that Israel plans to expand relations with Albania in a number of areas including trade.

Albania recently voted against the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) resolution proposed by Arab nations that called for supervision of Israel’s nuclear facilities.