TIRANA, March 27 – Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a second visit to the country in three years focusing on the tiny Balkan country’s bid for NATO membership at its next summit in Bucharest, Romania, April 2-4.
But the main scope of interest in the visit, where Erdogan was accompanied by a great number of businessmen, was installing closer economic ties between the two countries with an old history of relationships.
In return to Turkey’s support for Albania’s NATO membership Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha voiced his country’s support for Turkey’s bid for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council next year.
Erdogan said Turkey would loudly voice its support for Albania’s entry into NATO as well as Macedonia’s and Croatia’s entry into the transatlantic body during an upcoming NATO summit to be held early next month in Bucharest.
It was interesting to see that both premiers mentioned figures of Turkish investment and also annual commercial exchange.
Berisha hailed Turkish efforts and praised Erdogan saying that Turkish investment in the country had increased from $38 million when Erdogan came to power to $620 million now.
Erdogan answered back saying that excellent ties between the two countries asked for a higher figure than an annual $318 million commercial trade.
True that Turkey is a main supplier to many goods in Albania. It may be considered the third country after neighboring Italy and Greece.
Tourism has turned into a very big resource for Turkey welcoming Albanians who may take the visa at the airport. Thousands of Albanians go to Turkey every year, especially at summer time, to pass their vacations as they can afford Turkey’s prices.
The Turkish educational college has extended from the kindergarten and elementary school to the high school and now with a university with thousands of Albanian children following it.
Turkey has been present for a long time in post-communist Albania in some main areas of development in the country.
Gas pipeline
It was interesting to listen to Erdogan pledging to personally exert efforts for the inclusion of Albania in a project that will carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe. Last month, Turkey’s Energy Minister Hilmi G
