Strong relations with Turkey are a win-win situation, but the true test will be how Rama handles the more treacherous waters of Albania’s relations with Greece
TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
Albania’s prime minister-designate, Edi Rama, is offering some indication on what he hopes to do with Albania’s foreign policy. While there are nuances of change and hopes for more productive relations in his proposals for a strategic regional triangle in Albania’s relations with Turkey, Greece and Italy, these proposals do not mark a major shift in Albania’s foreign policy.
All three countries have been on top of priorities for Albanian foreign relations before, but more importantly, the main pillar of Albanian foreign relations – hopes for EU membership and a strong partnership with the United States will continue to be the same as those of previous governments.
It does appear that Turkey, with its growing economy and increasing economic presence in Albania, has moved up in the priority list of Albania’s foreign relations, and the new government wants to see higher cooperation than ever before with Ankara.
“Getting Turkey involved is part of our program ŠWe are also ready to establish a level that has not been known before in the relations with Turkey,” Rama said in a recent interview.
Such a feat makes good sense and could be a win-win situation for both countries.
However, the true test will be how Rama handles the more treacherous waters of Albania’s relations with Greece. The two countries are yet to come up with an agreement on the maritime border between them, after Albania’s higher court voided a previous agreement seen as unfair by most Albanians. Rama was among the supporters of scraping the first agreement.
Rama has indicated that he is ready to open a new chapter, since the relations went to the lowest level in the past years. But he also indicated he has not changed his mind about an earlier maritime border agreement, which the Greeks want but which he helped scrap.
It appears he is hoping on finding some good will and mutual trust in future negotiations with Greek officials. Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos is due to visit Albania in the fall, the first such visit in a while.
Both Albania and Greece have a lot to gain by sorting out an agreement, and the new energy-related link between the two countries, TAP, could also help smooth relations.
Having already visited Rome, Rama has also made it clear he sees Italy as a strategic partner that has helped Albania quite a bit in previous years, and that his government would work to further the partnership for social and economic development with Rome.
At the end of the day, in terms of Euro-Atlantic orientation, we don’t expect any significant change in the new government’s policies on the EU and the United States. Pressure from these super-partners to improve domestic policies in order to achieve European standards is more likely to affect the relations than Albania’s foreign policy itself.
