Tirana Economic Forum, Albania as a development corridor from north to south

Tirana Economic Forum is the gathering that today brought together entrepreneurs and international experts, organized under the auspices of the Delphi Forum, to discuss the development opportunities that Albania offers. Prime Minister Edi Rama also participated, and among other points, he praised the Forum as a high-level platform of ideas, meetings, and promising investments.

“We are turning our country into a development corridor from north to south. Albania is ready for high quality and sustainable investments. We welcome partnerships that bring know-how, technology, innovation, and of course export capabilities.” the Prime Minister said, among other remarks.

***

Prime Minister Edi Rama:

Distinguished hosts and members of the business community, friends,

Allow me first to thank the organizers for bringing together again this high caliber platform of ideas, encounters, and hopefully investments. And allow me to make a very warm and special welcome to our Greek friends.

Albanians and Greeks have had their difficulties in understanding that geography is not a constraint, but a mindset, and today we are more aware than ever of this new horizon, thanks also to platforms like this one.

It is a special pleasure to be here with you in such a forum where ideas meet interests, where facts meet vision, and where Albania is not watching from the sidelines anymore, but standing confidently, vocal, ambitious, and forward-looking. Because the reality has changed, Albania is not a distant corner on the map anymore, and either no longer viewed as such, but as a country where things happen, where reforms are not promises but practice, and where transformation is not a slogan but a daily fact. In a Europe rethinking its security and economic architecture, our country stands as a pillar of stability, a promoter of peace and regional cooperation, a reliable partner, and an economy on the rise.

We have opened all negotiating chapters with the European Union in a record speed time. We have more than doubled our GDP in the last decade and brought down our public debt around 20 points percentage, while our deficit is at its lowest ever. We are experiencing a remarkable boom in tourism and the booming demand for serious investments in our tourism industry.

We are building a stronger energy sector, powered by green ambition, and our very realistic aim is to become a net exporter country within 2030. We are renewing infrastructure from ports to highways and pushing digital transformation at unprecedented speeds. And, yes, we are doing all this while fighting corruption and modernizing the state, while our wages are growing, and our reborn military industry is starting with some very promising first steps. None of this happened by accident. It happened step by step, through reform, through work, and through belief.

Albania’s growth today is not only quantitative, but also qualitative. We are building an economy measured not only by volume, but by value, productivity, and innovation. And we can say it clearly and proudly. Foreign direct investments in 2024 reached 1.58 billion euros, the highest level ever recorded, and the trend continues upward into 2025. Capital does not choose at random, and we know it. It goes where there is stability, where there is clarity, and where there is direction.

Today, Albania is exactly that. A place, a destination, with stability, with clarity, and with direction. We are turning our country into development corridors from north to south. New airports and ports are rising, energy parks are expanding, tourism zones and industrial sites are taking shape.

The new Port of Durres will become one of the most modern hubs in the Mediterranean, a new gateway connecting Albania with the world and the world with the Western Balkans. Albania is no longer just a story of potential, Albania is a story of progress, and its growth does not come from slogans, growth comes from reform.  We have created one of the most supportive tax regimes for small businesses anywhere in the region, with 0% profit tax for small enterprises until 2029. A clear message to thousands and thousands of entrepreneurs, grow, invest, create jobs. The state is your partner, not your burden.

The digital revolution has changed the way we govern and the way business operates. Today 95% of all public services are provided online and soon we will launch the new version of our AI assistant on the digital platform of public services. It will not be any more about being guided to tape and to get, but it will be simply Face Timing, asking and getting what you need. No queues, no paper files, no closed doors, one click, one request, and the procedure is solved. More transparency for business, less room for bribery and more time for real productivity. This is the state we are building, simple and efficient.

Europe 2030 is not a hope for us; it is a destination. And our compass is very clear toward the European Union. Negotiations are open, chapters are progressing, and our objective is realistic and achievable. Of course, with one condition, that you stand to its promise and that together we stick to the calendar that we have agreed commonly.

EU membership for Albania by 2030 is possible. And we are here not to wait for Europe, but to build Europe here. And that’s why we are so eager to pursue the neurotic path of negotiations. Europe here means standards, institutions, and competitiveness.

Europe is not only politics, but also development. Albania has never been closer. I would like to take this opportunity to also say a few words about the investors. They have all to understand that the moment is now, Albania is ready for high quality and long-term investment. We welcome partnerships that bring know-how, technology, innovation, and of course export capabilities. Investing today means entering the market of tomorrow.

We invite everyone to engage in our strategic pillars that will define our next decade. Green energy, with one of the highest shares of renewable electricity in the world, and a clear ambition to become not only a net exporter, but a regional energy hub. Modern infrastructure, with all components that are turning Albania into a logistic crossroads of the Adriatic and the Balkans.

Quality and sustainable tourism, where natural beauty meets heritage, and authenticity to create year-round destinations with high value and high standards, technology and innovation with a growing startup ecosystem, a young digital workforce, AI and creative industries shaping the new economy. In all these areas, the government stands ready with fiscal incentives, transparency, and partnerships. We want investments that create value, not footprints. We want partners, not passengers.

My dear friends, Albania is leaving a new chapter, exciting, challenging, but first and foremost, very confident. A chapter of modern development, of European ambition. We have stability, we have rhythm, we have a young society full of talent and energy. We have the map, we have the vision, and we have the will to move forward. And our invitation is very simple. Believe in the Albania that is rising, invest in the Albania that is transforming, become part of the success story we are building before it is too late, and Albania is not too big, so run and rush before the spaces are occupied. The future is not something we wait for. The future is something we build every day, and we build it together.

So again, I hope you can understand how seriously I took this invitation, coming up with a fully written speech, and how seriously I took your time making sure that my speech is not as long as usual.

So again, I thank the hosts, I thank everyone that is gathered here, and I want to conclude where I started with my dear friend Simeon, to whom I want to do a trick. He told me that he wants this to become much bigger next year, so I want this to be heard by all of you, and if it will not happen, it’s not my fault, it is his. Thank you so much!