Italy – Albania, a successful partnership

Albania is a land to be discovered, where "discovery" also means entrepreneurial discovery.

Here, hundreds of Italian entrepreneurs have already started their businesses in various sectors of the economy, strengthened by the cultural, perhaps even more than geographical, proximity between our two countries.

Geographic proximity and close political and economic ties make Italy a strategic partner for Albania, as confirmed not only by the frequency of bilateral meetings but also by intense economic and trade relations.

Despite the global crisis, in 2022, Italy confirmed its position as Albania's leading trading partner, increasing the value of bilateral trade (January-November 2022) to €3.3 billion (29.5% of Albania's total international trade), exceeding, as of October, the total for the entire year 2021 (€2.9 billion). Turkey follows with 8.5%, Greece with 7%, and Germany with 6.4%.

Again in the first eleven months of 2022, Italy recorded an increase in its exports to Albania (+7.4% compared to the same period in 2021), representing 22% of total Albanian imports, a market share far higher than that of Greece (8%), Germany (6.2%), and Spain (1.7%). Forty-two percent of all Albanian imports from the 27 European Union countries come from Italy.

The main sectors of activity include textiles, footwear, mechanical engineering, agri-food, construction, and chemicals. The Italian business presence in Albania is particularly significant. According to ISTAT sources, 42.3% of foreign-owned and mixed-investment companies operating in Albania are Italian. Italian companies account for over 50% of the employment of all foreign-owned companies operating in the country, with approximately 90,000 employees.

Here in Albania, Italy is at the top; as we've seen, we're leading, but we must adapt flexibly to change to be ready for the new challenges of the future and look to the medium to long term, when competition from other competitors will become fiercer, and it is that prospect we must prepare for.

By continuing together, playing as a team, as we have already been able to do, we could achieve great things.

Fabrizio Bucci

Italian Ambassador to Tirana