By Rudina Hoxha
On the eve Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Albania on May 14, the commerce counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in Tirana, Muharrem Can, underlines in an exclusive interview for Tirana Times the increasing Turkish investments trend in Albania.
“Despite the global economic crisis, the increase in Turkish investment in Albania for the last 3 years is about 50 percent. Especially during this time, I believe that the Turkish companies have made a significant contribution not only to Albania’s economic growth but also to employment as well,” Can said.
According to him, the Albanian market is very promising to the Turkish investors especially in the areas of mining and energy.
What are the major commercial projects between Albania and Turkey?
The relations between our two countries have traditionally been friendly due to our cultural and historical factors. On the other hand, our economic relationship has also been strengthened over the last years. We have the fundamental basis for our bilateral trade relations which is the Free Trade Agreement,” signed in 2006. In order to complete the legal framework of our bilateral commercial and economic relations, Turkey and Albania have also signed a number of agreements, including the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (1996) and the Double Taxation Prevention Treatment (1996), Economic, Trade, Industry and Technical Cooperation Agreement, etc.
If we have a look at the bilateral trade, Turkey is one of the few constant partners, experiencing an overall increase in trade flows and keeping a constant share of 6 percent to total trade flows.
Turkish Companies in Albania generally operate in the field of telecommunication, banking, construction and mining area. Some of the most important companies in Albania are concentrated on the banking sector, Eagle and Albtelecom in telecommunication, Kurum in metallurgy, Turkish Colleges and University in education area, Ber-Alb in mining, Ayen Energy and Limak Holding in energy sector etc. There are more than 100 Turkish SME operating actually in Albania.
What is the overall cost of the bilateral projects?
Until 2013, the amount of the direct investment of Turkish Companies in Albania has reached more than 1 billion US Dollars. Only in the last year, Turkısh FDI reached a value of about 270 million US Dollars and also an important tender in construction sector has been obtained by the two Turkish companies consortium. On the other hand, Turkey is the fourth biggest exporter country in 2013. Despite the global economic crisis, the increase in Turkish investment in Albania for the last 3 years is about 50 percent. Especially during this time, I believe that the Turkish companies have made a significant contribution not only to Albania’s economic growth but also to employment as well. So, it is not surprising that Turkey was declared as one of the strategic partners by the new Albanian government together with Italy and Greece.
In order to have a clear idea related to the dispersion of Turkish Direct Investment according to activity sectors, we have prepared the graph as below:
The first forum of economic cooperation between Albania and Turkey was held recently in Tirana with the special presence of Albanian Premier, Edi Rama. What was its impact?
Yes, it was the first economic forum held between Albanian Government and Turkish-Albanian Chamber of Commerce. This forum discussed the main problems the foreign investors face in Albania while it took their suggestions into account. It also identified the priority areas of investments, fostered the greater coordination with Albanian Government and encouraged the Turkish companies to stay in Albania.
In your view, what can be done more in the economic field by the two countries?
The Albanian market is very important to Turkish investors especially in the areas of mining and energy. There are well-known Turkish companies which are willing to invest in hydro electric powers and in the mining sectors. So, it seems like Albania is a promising market for our companies.
On the other hand, although the agriculture sector has been growing, it is still operating under its potentials. I think that improvements of product quality, adoption of standards, and certification of production processes will make agriculture one of the main contributing sectors in Albanian economy.
You know that Turkey is currently the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world, attracting more than 30 million tourists each year, and the number continues to rise every year. In 2013, the number of the foreign tourists in Turkey increased by 15 percent.
The Turkish tourism industry’s energetic and continuous growth remains unhindered by the negative effects of the recent global economic crisis, while retaining immense untapped potential. Collaboration in the field of tourism and experience of our well-known big companies in the field of tourism will be a good opportunity for development of Albanian tourism sector. Personally, I wish that more Turkish people visit Albania.
How do the Turkish investors find the Albanian business climate?
The major advantages of Albania are many. Such as the limited wage that is the lowest in the region; the central location Albania enjoys as well the logistic advantage compared to its neighbors. Natural resources such as mining and tourism are some sectors that have advantages for foreign investors. The country is rich in copper, chrome and oil.
There is no ethnicity problem in Albania. A significant proportion of the population in this country is younger than 30 years. It is a big advantage for the investors in Albania.
On the other hand there are some adverse situations to the investors in this country. Bureaucracy, lack of infrastructure and latest regulations, especially in taxes, lack of industrial zone, which are currently inactive, are the main obstacles to the foreign investors.
To sum up, although Albania has some problems, it is worth to invest.
