It is high time for authorities in Tirana to act in a more concerted effort to improve the country’s image, with a particular focus on the business community.
TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
Tirana, Apr. 12 – The fact that Albania has an image problem in much Europe is not new. Some of the negative perceptions Europeans have about Albania are justified. Most are not. Certain types of prejudice can be ignored, others, such as the type that deters foreign investors, the country simply can’t afford leave unaddressed.
It is high time for authorities in Tirana to act in a more concerted effort to improve the country’s image, with a particular focus on the business community.
The first and obvious way to do this is to actually address the problems investors already in the country have pointed out. That is to fight corruption and make sure laws are properly and equally implemented.
In terms of tax regime and legislation, Albania is already one of the best places to do business in Europe. Despite voices to the contrary, many of the changes the current government has undertaken, such as the low flat tax system are beneficial to making Albania more attractive for foreign investments. On paper Albania is great. Where the government often fails is in its ability to properly implement initiatives. That’s where whoever is in power following the elections needs to focus.
The second aspect, which is just as important, involves better public relations, advertising achievements and painting a positive picture of Albania across Europe. We are not advocating deceiving anyone, but rather explaining the realities of living and doing business in Albania for potential investors. Albania is far from perfect, but we suspect perceptions of the country in Europe are actually much worse than reality.
The reason for this editorial is a recent report, featured in our top story, which points out that German businesses see Albania as the least attractive place to invest. While some of the reasons given for such perception make sense, others do not.
German business representatives explain that Albania falls behind because it has weaker economic ties to Germany than some of its neighbors and lacks the sort of infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities the typical German investor is looking for. Corruption and arbitrariness of tax authorities also are issues of real concern.
But in addition to these real issues, there is another underlying current that relates to how Germans view Albania that obviously stems from lack of contact and total unfamiliarity with the country.
At one point in the press conference to present the results of the survey, the German chamber of commerce president mentioned some of the “softer” reasons for perceptions that keep German businesses away: the association between Albania and the Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha.
Anyone who has spent anytime in Albania would know these perceptions have little to do with reality. But since these perceptions do exist, they do need to be addressed.
Albania needs to advertise the positive changes that have taken place in the past two decades and show the reality of life here. The clock in certain European circles might have stopped decades earlier when it comes to perceptions of this country. But ours hasn’t.
