“The deepening of the fight against corruption in relations between government and investors will be a key element and a fundamental challenge of this government on which the Investment Council will give a special contribution,” said Prime Minister Rama
TIRANA, April 16 – With the attraction of foreign direct investment high on government’s agenda, Albania has launched an Investment Council serving as a linking bridge between the business community and the government and a catalyst helping to create the right business environment for investments.
Speaking at the launch ceremony on Wednesday, Prime Minister Edi Rama described the Investment Council, set up with support by London-based EBRD, as a new mechanism to address entrepreneurship issues and ease the process of investment in Albania.
“The Investment Council is a new creature, not to add an extra mechanism in this process of interaction, but to create a mechanism which thanks to EBRD support and expertise will give us the opportunity to directly address entrepreneurship issues and find solutions together to continuously ease the process of investing in Albania,” said Rama.
“The deepening of the fight against corruption in relations between government and investors will be a key element and a fundamental challenge of this government on which the Investment Council will give a special contribution,” added Rama.
The launch of the Investment Council comes at a time when government has undertaken legal action, offering simplified procedures for investments in strategic sectors.
Foreign investors will be offered simplified and accelerated procedures in the next three years for strategic investments in energy, mining, transport, telecommunication, infrastructure, urban waste, tourism, agriculture and fishing and special economic zones, according to a draft law government has submitted to Parliament.
Strategic investors in Albania’s tourism sector will also be offered state-owned property for a symbolic 1 Euro under 99-year concession contracts to develop tourist resorts.
The Council is a platform set up by the Albanian authorities with support from the EBRD to intensify the dialogue between the government and the private sector, improve the business climate and promote good governance. The work of the Council is supported by a Secretariat, an independent body of professionals selected and contracted by the EBRD to directly engage with the business community. The initial funding for the Secretariat is provided by Italy.
“This is a landmark moment in our cooperation with the EBRD. Creating the right investment conditions is a critical task and we are confident that we will make further progress through the work of the Investment Council. We are convinced that strengthening the investment climate and enhancing governance will increase Albania’s attractiveness to investors,” added Albania’s Minister of Economic Development, Arben Ahmetaj.
“We are proud to support the launch of the Investment Council. This is an important step forward and we are happy to see the Albanian authorities tackle head-on the challenges that the country faces. Improving the business environment is one of the priorities of the EBRD’s work in Albania and it is an integral part of everything we do,” said Christoph Denk, head of the EBRD Office in Tirana.
“This is an important moment for Albania. We are proud to be one of the pioneering countries in the Western Balkans to step up efforts to improve the business environment. Thanks to our cooperation with the EBRD Albania is taking another step towards unleashing its full economic potential,” said the Head of the Secretariat of the Investment Council of Albania, Diana Leka.
“This step shows the Albanian authorities’ strong commitment to the reform agenda. We are pleased to see our Investment Climate and Governance Initiative deliver results as economic growth can be re-energised only through the process of change and adoption of market-friendly reforms,” said EBRD Managing Director for External Relations and Partnerships, Alan Rousso.
Lack of privatization revenue and the increase of the corporate income tax by 5 percent to 15 percent are estimated to have had a negative impact on foreign direct investment which suffered a slight decline in 2014.
FDI dropped to 878 million euros in 2014, down from a historic high of 945 million euros in 2013 registering a 7 percent decrease, according to revised data published by the country’s central bank in its balance of payments for the final quarter of the 2014.
Prospects for 2015 seem more optimistic as the major Trans Adriatic Pipeline bringing Caspian gas to Europe is scheduled to start construction in its Albania section and Norway’s Statkraft continues the construction of Devoll hydropower plant, the biggest investment in renewably energy in the past three decades in Albania.
