TIRANA, July 1 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to make a one-day visit to Tirana on July 8 at the start of a regional tour, Albanian officials said.
The visit comes after the chancellor promissed last year she would visit Tirana and the region as part of her efforts to reassure the Western Balkan countries of their European prospects.
Merkel, the second German chancellor to visit post-communist Albania, will also take part at a German-Albanian business forum to discuss how Albania and the region can better attract and retain German investors.
On Tuesday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama took part at the opening ceremony of the Tirana Business Park, a large German investment of about 100 million euros that will also employ thousands of people until it is completed next decade.
“This is the path to compete and to succeed,” Rama said.
Merkel’s visit is significant especially after the start of the Berlin process last year, in which Germany took an active leadership role to help the Western Balkans along their EU integration path at a time in which both the bloc and the region have lacked progress.
Most of all, the people hope for “economic advancement and measures tackling unemployment,” Merkel said last year.
The Western Balkans have a “European perspective,” she added. “All states in the Western Balkans should have the opportunity to join the European Union if they fulfill the accession requirements.”
The process initiated in Berlin is expected to continue and be converted into a longer working process. The next host is expected to be Austria later this year.
