4th Turkish products’ fair in Tirana

From the 27th to the 30th of March, Tirana hosted the 4th Turkish Products’ Fair, organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Tirana Chamber of Commerce. The Turkish investments in the course of the last four years have registered a notable increase climbing from 130 million USD to over 800 million USD – emphasized the Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, as he visited the Fair. “Albania and Turkey plan to implement major energy projects as well as other major projects”, declared the Albanian Premier, Sali Berisha. Turkish companies are today major actors in the Albanian market. After the purchase of the majority of the shares of Albtelecom in 2007, the national operator of fixed telephones, and the creation of Eagle Mobile, the Turkish “Calik Holding” has become a major actor in telephones, mobile communications and internet services in Albania. Eagle Mobile is the third mobile phone company in the country, while the Turkish press, echoing information from Albania, boasted that in 2007-2008 three out of Albania’s top ten companies were Turkish, citing Bechtel-Enka, an American-Turkish consortium building a highway that will link Albania to Kosovo, the Turkish company Kurum, active in the iron and steel industry in Albania, and the oil company Alpet.
The press reports that the trade volume between the two countries has increased more than twice its previous number during the past 5 years and has recorded 342 million USD last year. According to data from the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) imports from Turkey in 2007 are roughly almost twice as less than imports from Greece but 3 times higher than imports from all countries in South and North America. However, since the general tendency of Albanian trade balance is negative, Turkey does not make any exception to this fact. Albanian exports to Turkey in 2007 were roughly almost 12 times less than Turkish imports in Albania.
Nearly 70 Turkish firms took part in the 4th Turkish Products’ Fair in Tirana. Different Turkish companies have invested in Albania; in the banking system, steelwork industry, telecommunications, transport and road construction, building, mines, energy sector and health. The president of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce emphasized that the Turkish government plans to stimulate other Turkish investments in Albania taking advantage of the favorable investment climate in Albania.