Berisha Eager To Promote Chinese Investments

TIRANA, Aug 11 – Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said, upon arrival from Beijing, where he attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics, that he had strongly urged Chinese authorities and businesses to invest in Albania.
Berisha mentioned the fact that China has been one of the strongest supporters of Albania’s development during the last century, though he did not specifically mention the years of the communist regime.
Tirana became very close to Beijing after it broke with the former Soviet Union in 1961. Chinese investment was seen, at that time, in many factories and plants. But they also drifted apart in 1978 after conflicts in their ideologies.
Berisha said those ties should serve as a good basis to resume better ones at present.
He urged the Chinese government and private businesses to invest in Albania, saying the government would offer all required facilities. Berisha also invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Tirana, mentioning that Chou En Lai, a legendary Chinese official, had visited Albania three times.
Berisha also said that discussing Kosova was one of the main issues in his meetings with Chinese officials.
Being diplomatic, Berisha said that China was not one of the big power countries that divided Kosova from Albania at the beginning of the last century. He told Chinese officials that recognizing independent Kosova would be a very important contribution for peace and stability in the region.
China has said that the dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade should have continued. However, Berisha responded that the dialogue had been ongoing for three years and Serbia had not agreed to anything.
Beijing, which has a veto at the United Nations Security Council, has not recognized Kosova.
Berisha also said he had met with the Serb President Boris Tadic while meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush.
Berisha said he told Bush that Tirana-Belgrade ties should be developed along with the joint European future, adding that Kosova has not been an issue of dispute between the two countries.
Observers noted Berisha was expressing his goodwill to Serbia for better relations in the future, despite the Kosova problem.