Prime Minister Rama in Vienna Highlights Albania as the New Gateway for Investments in the Region

Today, Prime Minister Rama participated in the conference “Albania, the New Horizon,” which was held in Vienna, Austria. The conference promoted Albania as a prime destination for strategic investments in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, tourism, and technology. It also fostered long-term partnerships to promote the country’s sustainable development.
The conference, organized by Raiffeisen Bank International and Raiffeisen Bank Albania in cooperation with the Albanian Investment Corporation, featured extensive discussions across several parallel panels. Topics included “Albania’s Macroeconomic Developments and Outlook” and “Albania: An Emerging Investment Hub: Ease of Doing Business and Investment Climate”; and “Albania’s Overall Potential in Key Sectors,” among others.
Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered opening remarks at the event, following those of Johann Strobl, CEO of RBI, and Valerie Brunner, Member of the Board for Corporate and Investment Banking at RBI.
Next, Mr. Christian Wehrschütz moderated a Q&A dialogue with the audience.
The Prime Minister responded to entrepreneurs’ interest from more than 25 countries in major investment opportunities in Albania, one of which is energy. Fundamental changes have taken place in the operation and development of the energy sector.
“Energy has been one of the biggest problems we’ve had to deal with,” stated the Prime Minister, emphasizing that “now we are in a completely different position.” We have many new resources that have been or will soon be put into operation. Currently, more than 10% of our energy comes from solar power. Our goal is to reach nearly 30 percent. We are confident that we will achieve full energy sovereignty before 2030. This means that we will produce all the energy we need throughout the year without relying on imports, which is not the case today. We are investing in solar and wind power, as well as a new technology with Statkraft: a pumping system within the existing hydropower system.”
In response to Turkish investors’ interest in infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister stated that Albania is currently carrying out major infrastructure works.
“We are carrying out several large projects and major works in road infrastructure, which are linked to the private sector’s interest and capacity to be involved and supported through toll roads. For now, we are designing and developing a number of projects, and more will follow. It could be of interest to explore these opportunities. This is one area of infrastructure where possibilities exist. Then there are railways and, of course, energy. We have launched international calls for investments in renewable resources, and you are more than welcome to apply when these calls are announced. The calls are highly transparent and are carried out in cooperation with international institutions. So far, they have been of very high quality, with no complaints,” suggested Prime Minister Rama.
The conference continued with the Energy Sector, Infrastructure and Construction, and Real Estate and Tourism Panels. Participants from the Albanian delegation included Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sports Blendi Gonxhja; Deputy Ministers of Finance, Economy, and Infrastructure; and Director General of the Albanian Investment Corporation Elira Kokona, among others. Together with their international counterparts, these participants discussed Albania as the new gateway for investments in the region.