very positive, with those who see it in positive terms more than twice as high.(as shown in graph 8). What is the influence of China on our country's security? 60 54.9 56.23 50 40 30 20 18.2 10 1.52 0 Very positive 23.5 Positive 18.7 Neutral 10.85 1.6 Negative 1.08 1.1 Very negative 6.82 5.5 Don’t know 2019 2020 Graph 8: Perception of China’s influence. Overall, 73.1% of the respondents positively value the influence of China, a figure almost equal to the one on the EU’s influence. This misalignment between the citizens’ perception with the country’s general foreign policy objectives should inspire greater reflection for the political elites who should consider the preparation of adequate informative content for domestic media outlets. Finally, there has been a notable political opening between Albania and the Gulf countries (such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar) over the past years, to attract more foreign direct investments. The number of exchange visits at a high level has increased and these third countries have assured the Albanian leader of their faithfulness in times of uncertainty, as was the case after the earthquake and with the provision of 10,000 doses of the Russian vaccine early this year. Although bilateral relations now can be defined as business-oriented, it is interesting to note that the positive perception of Albanians has increased considerably. As graph 9 illustrates, in the last year 27% of the respondents assess in very positive terms the influence of the Arab countries on Albania’s security, and the other 48.8% in positive terms. 15