ATHENS – The Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, invited Greek investors to invest in Albania while addressing the Greek-Albanian Forum at a central Athens hotel on Tuesday.

While addressing members of the Greek government and representatives of Greek businesses, Rama noted that Greek companies would enjoy certain privileges should they choose to invest in Albania.

“We want to start a special initiative for Greek businesses,” said Rama, “we’re thinking of doing something very radical – to invite your companies to come and have a very special treatment there for a number of years, in regions where we have a problem because people are leaving, but which still have a lot of potential.”

The Albanian head of state pointed out that investments are no longer limited to Albania or North Macedonia or the nearby region but are part of a wider market created through the cooperation of countries such as Serbia, North Macedonia, and other countries that participate in the Berlin Process and are signing agreements for the expansion of the regional market.

“We are moving towards a single market in the region,” underlined Rama.

Discussing Albania’s integration into the European Union with Symeon Tsomokos, Founder & President of the Delphi Economic Forum, Rama said that Europe views this positively, especially given the pressure from Russian aggression.

Rama also emphasized that the gap between EU member states and non-member states is widening instead of narrowing. EU countries have more tools at their disposal to handle various crises, such as the Resilience Fund, which supports citizens and governments.

“Europe needs to take more action,” stressed Rama, in terms of economic relations between the Balkans and Europe.

The Delphi Economic Forum organized the event, which was attended by, among others, the Greek government’s Vice-President, Panagiotis Pikramenos, Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis, and representatives of Greek businesses operating in Albania. On the Albanian side, it was attended by Finance & Economy Minister Delina Ibrahimaj and Foreign Affairs Minister Besart Kadia.