The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will fund an investment programme in tourism and cultural heritage infrastructure in Shkoder, Berat, Fier, Korçe and Gjirokaster. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and two financing agreements on tourism and infrastructure development in these four strategic poles of the national economy was signed during an online ceremony attended by the Prime Minister Edi Rama, the EBRD President Jurgen Rigterink and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania, Ambassador Luigi Soreca.
Remarks by Prime Minister Edi Rama, EBRD President Jurgen Rigterink, and the EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca at the online ceremony that preceded the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and two financing agreements:
PM Edi Rama: The Memorandum we are signing today represents a significant step, which fully recognizes our EU accession goals by combining the policy of engagement, technical assistance and investments. The Memorandum is also a very precious additional tool that will hopefully help Albania to move faster with the chapters of the acquis communautaire. I am also very happy to acknowledge what we have accomplished in terms of our achievements, for which EBRD has definitely played a key role.
Now I believe that we are very inspired also by what is happening in the European Union front, as the Union has come out with a very ambitious investment package for the entire region. But we know very well that in order to be very effective in accessing and absorbing these funds and in delivering on this vision, we will need as much as possible help in terms of expertise. I very much hope that your Bank, which is full of money but also very rich in its expertise, will continue to help us in this regard. It is unquestionable that EBRD will play a primary role in taking European Albania further and signing these agreements is crucial to our efforts to turn tourist infrastructure into a part of the agreement infrastructure in addition to roads. This programme is very welcome, as it incorporates a full package of restoration and development of all cultural heritage sites, as we have already earlier agreed, in Shkodra, Vlora, Korça, Fier, Berat. But let’s move on from the nice words and speeches and let’s go forward with the signing. I am very much pleased to tell that you are more than welcome anytime you wish to come over here, but in the meantime it is more than welcome any opportunity to have this kind of conversations.
EBRD President Jurgen Rigterink: I think we shouldn’t probably underestimate your personal commitment as the process of the reform agenda is very clear. The Progress Report released earlier this week is recognition of this success and your personal role in bringing Albania closer to the EU. I think it wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.
PM Edi Rama: There is already a huge commitment from the EU, there is an exceptional commitment from the European Commission to assist Albania and the region, certainly based on the vision about a single market and under the implementation of Europe’s four main freedoms to invest in such volumes that can change the landscape completely by primarily focusing on transportation. I hope that Tirana-Durres railway will be just the starting point of something that would become the regional railway and highway networks as well.
Secondly, as far as the digital is concerned, this is something I think we should all do whatever we can promote and have a key digital backbone. This would be really a great thing.
Then the energy sector, to conclude we already started. When it comes to energy, we are in a good position, because Albania is rich in cleanest energy in the region and by putting more emphasis on the gas sector, solar energy and the hydropower, we can of course we can also help other countries so that we slowly and gradually stop using coal and fossil fuels. I just want to mention that, because of something I already highlighted in my opening remarks, that we need your expertise, because we now face a challenge and we should be able to design good, reliable projects that meet the expectations in terms of fulfilling the standards set by our EU friends.
EBRD President Jurgen Rigterink: am very pleased to sign this Memorandum of Understanding that reconfirms the EBRD’s commitment to assist Albania on its path to European Union integration, focusing on three key issues; sustainable infrastructure, economic growth and strengthening governance and the investment climate.
The Memorandum of Understanding has not been designed to be a boring document. Instead, the Memorandum will be a pragmatic, energizing document that will tackle short-term priorities, and an appendix that will be discussed and updated. The Memorandum’s first priority has to do with the project we will sign today, which is infrastructure and tourism. The project will strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector and will contribute to the tourism and the country’s post- COVID pandemic recovery. In fact, it is driven not only by its size, which is considerable, but also by the approach to address and solve obstacles to the development of Albanian tourism. The program will fund the critical structure as it will make sure to preserve the critical part of the heritage sites. Last but not least, it will also strengthen the role of the enterprises to boost their capacities and finance.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to congratulate all involved parties that succeeded to promote implementation of the agreements on this very significant day when parties reconfirm their commitment to support our partner, Albania. This should include the quick launch of the investment tenders, which should be provided with the technical assistance under this Programme. All this would not have been possible without our really strong partners, the EU. The EU, as you know Prime Minister, is the most important donor; almost half of what we get from donors comes from the EU. So, I can really call it a strategic partnership, not only for this project, but also for the rest of the Balkans.
Ambassador Luigi Soreca: I and the Prime Minister spent entire yesterday afternoon together and, as you might see, we are usually very much in synergy, but yesterday was a special day as the EU Commissioner Varhelyi was on a visit, not only to present the Progress Report, but also a visionary economic and investment plan. I actually agree with the Premier that there is a shift in the way the European Union is addressing the region and the cooperation with the Western Balkans and the South-Eastern Europe. I think it is a unique opportunity. As the Commissioner said, the ball is now on the court, not only on the EU court, but also on Albania’s court and any technical assistance, as the Prime Minister noted, should come up with the best project with an impact at a regional level in the infrastructure sector. It is most likely that in the next 4 or 5 years, as Commissioner said, that this plan will change the landscape of the region.
I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister, the Minister, the government of Albania and the EBRD President for signing this agreement which will eventually unlock a grant of EUR 40 million in EU funding for the Economic and Tourism Development Programme. The Programme has the potential to support one of the worst-hit sectors by the COVID-19 crisis and it is essential to make sure that the Programme is accelerated and gain the pace in order to compensate the two-year delay and soften the blow that the sector has suffered to date. As the Prime Minister knows, this support is necessary now more than ever before and it completes the EU’s post-COVID support with 15 million medical equipment to support the government response in the social sector and support the economic recovery.
We have just also launched a very important programme to support the post-earthquake reconstruction phase, the EU 4Culture, which has also the ambition to support the social and economic recovery efforts, as well as tourism and therefore the country’s economy. Now, as it was said, we expect to move forward so that the Programme becomes real and we also remain hopeful that the ADP will launch the tenders for the most matured projects by the end of the year to pave the way towards strengthening the relation between tourism and the cultural heritage as a source of economic development.
Once again, we are proud that EU is confirming its role as the biggest donor to Albania in partnership with the EBRD to support Albanian government in investing ERUR 40 million to drive regeneration and economic development of Albania. It is now time to go to work. We are here to assist, but we expect to really move forward quickly.
Once again, congratulations for signing this very important agreement!
* Simultaneous interpretation
