Polls so important to Albania’s integration efforts, says Italian ambassador

TIRANA, Oct 27 – Italy strongly supports Albania’s membership efforts into NATO and the European Union, according to Italian ambassador Saba D’Elia.
The ambassador considered bilateral ties as excellent that have resulted in creating an institutional cooperation between the two countries.
Italy is Albania’s main trading partner covering some 40 percent of Albanian commercial exchange and the main bilateral donor during the post-communist period.
Italy ha strongly invested in medium-sized and small businesses in Albania and is also strongly working in big projects in energy, infrastructure and construction.
There are also two important Italian banking groups operating in Albania, he added.
“Italian companies consider the Albanian market of special interest also attracted from the positive data on the economic growth and other progress in political and economic good governance.
“There are all the conditions that Italy continues to ensure a strategic partnership with Albania,” he said in an interview to the Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper.
The ambassador said that direct assistance from the Italian government has been some 650 million Euros and together with investment from other Italian institutions and non governmental organization it makes it the biggest donor.
At the moment Italy is involved in 84 projects with a total value of 350 million Euros, he said, adding they were focused in the assistance for the country’s European integration efforts.
The ambassador also urged Albanian government and politics to continue reforms and preserve the equilibrium between the powers, paying special attention to the electoral process.
“We and the other monitors of the international community closely follow the electoral process which Albania is to hold next year,” he said, adding that their preparation, the construction of a legal context and qualitative infrastructure were fundamental for a regular and transparent process.
“Future elections will be an important test, a visit card in the context of the approximation process to the European Union,” he said.