Germany to continue providing development assistance

TIRANA, Nov. 5 – Germany will continue assisting Albania in energy, sustainable economic development, water supply and sewerage and waste management as part of its long-term commitment to support Albania’s economic. The support was pledged after talks held in Tirana this week between Agela Eckert who headed a delegation from Germany’s Economic Development Ministry and deputy Albanian Prime Minister Niko Peleshi.
“Germany was the second biggest donor in Albania for the 2000-2012 period with commitments of Euro 715 million and most importantly it is the first bilateral donor. Strategic projects have been implemented with the assistance of the German government since 1992 in priority sectors such as water supply and sewerage. The KfW German development bank remains the biggest investor in water supply, waste management and environment protection in several urban and rural areas in the country,” said deputy Prime Minister Peleshi.
The Albanian government also guaranteed support to the Albania-Kosovo interconnection line, which has been delayed due to problems in the tendering process.
Since the early 1990s when the country’s communist regime collapsed and relations between Germany and Albania were reestablished, the Federal Republic’s financial assistance and German private investments have been on the rise. The German development cooperation with Albania was launched in 1988, just before the collapse of the communist regime. Since then, the German federal government has made available around 1 billion euros for financial cooperation projects throughout the country. The focus is on improving municipal infrastructure and energy supply and strengthening the financial sector.