TIRANA, Oct. 24 – Recognizing the difficult path hat Albania has to cross in its integration efforts, the Danish government has decided to launch a new phase of cooperation in the country announced by the Danish embassy.
Subject to approval by the fiscal authorities the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida) will finance a program with a total budget of up to DKK 60 million over a four-five year period. The overall objective is to support the economic, social and political development of Albania in line with Albanian priorities and the new strategy of the Danish Neighborhood Program. Agriculture and rural development have been mentioned as focus areas as has vocational training with a rural focus. Poverty reduction, environmental improvement and gender equality are important crosscutting issues in the further planning of specific activities.
In order to provide a sound basis for the identification of the support, a Danida sponsored scoping mission will be fielded from 4 – 9 November 2007 prior to a detailed identification and formulation phase early 2008. The scoping study will serve as the planning tool of the Ministry and as the first means of communication with Albanian stakeholders. The final selection of interventions will be based on the political context in Albania, with special consideration to Albania’s national development strategy and national priorities; the Danish foreign policy objectives in relation to Albania and the strategy of the neighborhood Program 2008-12; the need for Danish support in the suggested area/sector and the ability to add value – also compared to other donor interventions; the possibility of achieving visible results within the program period; the existence of cooperation partners in the field with capacity and commitment and the risk assessment.
History
In June 2006, Dr. Per Stig Moller, the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited Albania. Although the visit focused on political issues, also cooperation matters were addressed. The Albanian side praised the Danish assistance and suggested in general terms a continuation. It has since been decided to allocate 3 million DKK to continue supporting two-three projects in the area of human rights and good governance. Work is ongoing to identify the activities, which will be decided before the end of 2007. In June 2007 the Minister approved a new strategy for the second phase of the Neighborhood Program for 2008-12. Albania was given high priority, which should also be seen against the background of the significant transitional assistance before 2004, which has placed Danida as a development partner and gave Denmark a good reputation among Albanian leaders and politicians. The new phase is also seen in the perspective of the Stabilization and Association Agreement signed with EU in June 2006. The ratification documents are presented to the Danish Parliament in December 2007. Albania is playing an important stabilizing role in the region, which is fully appreciated and supported by Denmark, as is the effort to join NATO.
