Prime Minister Edi Rama met today with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and talked about the development of relations between Albania and China over the past two years. The two prime ministers focused also on how to promote further the materialization of joint projects supported by both governments.

Prime Minister Rama briefed his Chinese counterpart on the progress of four key infrastructure projects, thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding of the Albanian Government with the Pacific Construction company. In addition, the Prime Minister noted that an important moment of the visit was the tripartite signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the Transport Ministers of Albania and Montenegro, and the President of Pacific Construction for the construction of the Blue Corridor. This agreement will later include Bosnia and Croatia as stakeholders in the project.

Another topic of the talks was the finalization of the negotiations to start works for the construction of the Arbër Highway, as well as the Chinese support for the Industrial Park in the new economic area of Durres. In this regard, Prime Minister Li Keqiang pledged to promote the involvement of as many Chinese companies in the implementation of the Park, which envisages the creation of 30 thousand new jobs. Premier Li Keqiang also noted that the government of China is ready to support the development of port infrastructure in Albania.

Agriculture was another sector for which the Chinese side expressed great interest, especially as regards the import of Albanian products, in particular olive oil. In addition, the Chinese Prime Minister informed Prime Minister Rama on a grant of the Chinese government for agricultural mechanics, as well as on its readiness to support the recovery of agricultural production infrastructure.

In addition to noting the excellent the relations between China and Albania, Prime Minister Li Keqiang congratulated Prime Minister Rama on the active role in the development of friendly cooperative relations in the Balkans.

The two prime ministers agreed on an official visit of the Chinese Premier to Albania to be paid at a time convenient for both sides.

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In the framework of the Economic Summit China and Central and Eastern Europe, Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the meeting that the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping held with the heads of governments of the countries participating in the Summit. The meeting also focused on strengthening the economic partnership and cooperation between CEE and China.