Berisha tries to attract Israeli businesses

TIRANA, Nov. 23 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha made a three-day visit to Israel where he made all efforts possible to try to attract the Israeli businesses come to Albania.
Albania and Israel have close ties and the recent visit was considered as further strengthening them.
This is Berisha’s third visit to Israel, having previously visited twice when he served as the country’s president in the mid-1990s. He was accompanied on his current visit by some 35 Albanian business leaders, who met with Israeli business people.
The visit was also considered by the local Israeli media as reflecting Albania’s importance as moderate Muslim country.
Tirana is very keen on Israeli investments in the country’s infrastructure. The Israeli investors were told that at some time in the future Albania will surely join the EU, meaning it will be easier to get in on the country’s economic development before that happens and the competition increases substantially.
Twenty-two Israeli companies and 35 Albanian ones took part at a forum where Berisha called on the Israeli ones to come and invest in his country with the lowest fiscal barrier in Europe, a very favorable business climate, a new market with educated and dynamic employees.
Besides it was learnt that Israel will open up a new embassy in Albania in the coming months, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman telling the news to Berisha on Monday. Diplomatic officials said the decision to open an embassy in Tirana is a reflection of the country’s economic potential, its diplomatic friendship, and its importance as a moderate Muslim country.
Albania has an embassy in Tel Aviv.
Palestine was another topic mentioned during the visit. In September Berisha said at the UN that while Albania supported Palestinian statehood, he thought unilateral Palestine’s action at the UN and that would be unhelpful. Albania was among the 52 countries that abstained earlier this month in the UNESCO vote – which passed – to accept “Palestine” into the organization, making it the only non-African member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to do so.
Berisha repeated the same stand during his stay in Israel this time, something that may likely not please many Arab countries in which Tirana is lobbing for Kosovo’s recognition.
Berisha also met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
Rivlin stated that “Albania is a model and a prime example of a secular, moderate and democratic Muslim state.”
“Efforts to bypass Israel and the US were mistakes,” Berisha was quoted as saying by Rivlin’s office. “It is not possible to bypass the need for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians are looking for shortcuts where none exist. There are no short cuts to a peace agreement that will last generations.”
His words on Palestine also crated rumors in Albania where the local media quoted him as saying that Palestinians had sabotaged the peace process. Berisha’s press office came out with a statement repeating that while they did not support Palestine’s move at the UN they still believed that a long-running peace could be achieved only through bilateral talks with Israel first.
Last summer Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman became the first of his kind to visit Albania in 17 years.