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Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe
Twenty years ago Albania was still a completely impoverished country; it bore the marks of decades of dictatorship and was isolated from the rest of the world. The present-day visitor to Albania finds a different country: open in outlook, Mediterranean in style and appreciative of the joys of life. Seeing the proliferation of new buildings and multi-coloured skyscrapers in Tirana it is easy to forget that the country continues to need support, and many reform projects are still awaiting implementation. Although some progress has been made, there is a continuing lack of basic infrastructure, particularly in impoverished regions of the country. Action is required in many areas – from primary education to road building in rural areas and electricity provision.
Since the war in Kosovo ended in 1999, Albania has been endeavouring to establish good relations with its neighbours and promote cooperation with them. The country joined NATO in April 2009 and is a member of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the successor organisation to the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, an initiative by the international community to establish long-term peace in the region. Through its membership, Albania supports the efforts of the international community to establish common security and economic structures in the region. In the long term, Albania would like to join the European Union. Even now, its economy exhibits a clear bias towards the EU. In April 2009 a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU came into force. At the same time the Albanian government submitted its application to join the European Union.
Now as ever, poverty is a grave problem for Albania. In recent years the Albanian economy has grown constantly. The Albanian government has reformed commercial law and reduced bureaucratic hurdles, and recently opened a one-stop shop for company licenses. Further improvements are still needed, though. Economic development is still being constrained by corruption and organised crime, a lack of legal certainty, unresolved ownership issues and poor infrastructure. German development cooperation is helping improve the investment climate.
In 2008, Albania achieved just 3.4 out of a possible 10 points on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
Development cooperation
Albania enjoys a close partnership with Germany; the Federal Republic is highly regarded in Albania as a supporter of the country’s reform process. German development cooperation activities in Albania are particularly concerned with drinking water supply, sanitation and waste management, energy and sustainable economic development. These activities are designed to contribute towards poverty reduction as defined in Albania’s National Strategy for Development and Integration 2007-13 (NSDI). The overall framework for Albanian-German cooperation is the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, and the accession process launched in 2009.
German Embassy
German Embassy in Albania
Rruga Skënderbej 8
Tirana
Albania
Phone: +355 / 42 / 27 45 05
Fax: +355 / 42 / 23 34 97
