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Turkish investment in Albania has reached $3.5 billion, with about 800 Turkish companies operating in the country, the head of the Türkiye-Albania Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) told the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
Serhat Kisakurek said the two countries aim to raise bilateral trade to $2 billion from about $965 million last year, as Albania's progress toward European Union membership opens new investment opportunities.
"Turkish business is among the important investors in the Albanian economy," Kisakurek said, adding, "Today, about 800 Turkish companies operate in the country, and the total size of Turkish investments has reached the level of $3.5 billion."
Turkish companies have a strong presence in Albania, particularly in banking and finance, energy, infrastructure, construction and manufacturing, Kisakurek said.
He said Turkish firms see major potential in renewable energy, energy storage, transport infrastructure, tourism, real estate development, mining and logistics.
Kisakurek said the strong political will of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama offers an important opportunity to develop economic ties.
"In the high-level contacts we recently held in Tirana, we also comprehensively assessed investment opportunities in energy, infrastructure, construction, mining, logistics and technology. It is pleasing to see that there is mutual interest and willingness to develop new cooperation in these areas," he said.
"Our basic approach here is to encourage investments that will create lasting economic value in Albania, create jobs and support access to regional markets, in addition to Turkish companies expanding their activities in the existing market. We expect these contacts to turn into concrete investment partnerships in the coming period," Kisakurek added.
Kisakurek said last year’s trade volume did not yet fully reflect the two countries’ potential.
"Our common goal in the coming period is to raise our trade volume to $2 billion. However, what matters for us is, along with the increase in trade volume, the diversification of mutual investments and the development of long-term economic partnerships," he said.
"We want to advance our relations with more concrete steps through mutual trade delegations, sectoral meetings and joint investment initiatives," Kisakurek added.
Kisakurek described Albania’s EU membership process as a key development for the country’s economic future and said the pace of negotiations shows membership is not far off.
He said aligning with EU legislation is creating new investment needs, especially in infrastructure, energy, environment, transport, digitalization and industry.
"We believe this transformation will offer important opportunities for Turkish companies. Türkiye’s strong trade relations with European markets and Turkish companies’ international project experience can provide important advantages in this process," he said.
"Our expectation is that direct investments from Türkiye to Albania will increase with progress in the EU membership process. We consider it important that Turkish investors closely follow this transformation process and seize the emerging opportunities at an early stage," Kisakurek added.
Kisakurek said Albania’s Adriatic coastline gives it the potential to become a key logistics link between the Balkans and the rest of Europe.
"We see this position as a strategic advantage for the future of economic relations between Türkiye and Albania," he said.
"Projects aimed at strengthening transport links between the Adriatic and the inner parts of the Balkans also have the potential to increase Albania’s role in regional transportation," Kisakurek added.
He named port infrastructure, maritime transport, rail links, warehousing and integrated logistics as growing areas of cooperation for Turkish firms.
Kisakurek said the council’s Oct. 7-8 delegation visit to Tirana was highly productive, allowing Turkish business people to build direct contacts with Albanian counterparts.
"Our priority is to maintain the relations established during this visit and to turn the opportunities discussed in the meetings into concrete commercial partnerships and investments. We will resolutely continue our work to carry the strong friendship between the two countries to a further economic partnership," he said.
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