Relations between Turkey and Albania

The general characteristic of the bilateral relations between Turkey and Albania is mutual friendship, trust and solidarity.

Successful high-level and technical visits and contacts are carried out on a periodical basis between the two countries.

The official visit of H.E. Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey to Albania in May 2015 as well as visit ofH.E. Mr Bujar Nishani, President of the Republic of Albania, in December 2016, to Turkey andvisit of H.E. Mr Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, in June 2016,to Turkey have been recent examples that demonstrate the level ofour bilateral relations.

The considerable number of Turkish citizens of Albanian origin living in Turkey and of Albanians who chose to stay in Turkey due to education, health and employment or marriage andthe growing size of the Turkish community settling in Albania, either as employers or professionals, strengthen thecooperation potential of the two countries.

Turkey considers Albania as a strategically important country for the establishment of enduring peace and stability in the Balkans and supports its integration with the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions.In 2013, Turkey was declared “a strategic partner” by Albania.

Cooperation in the field of defence constitutes a strong dimension of Turkish-Albanian bilateral relations. Teams assigned by the Turkish Armed Forces have been training Albanian Armed Forces and supporting them in logistics and modernization aspects, while Albanian soldiers assigned to Afghanistan within NATO framework are serving their mandate within the Turkish troops deployed in this geography, so that their international visibility is increased.

Turkey is one of the biggest trade partners of Albania. The bilateral trade volume in 2016 exceeded 407,2 million USD (1 December 2016).Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (in force: 2008) provide a suitable environment for furthering the bilateral trade. Extention of the scope of this Agreement is still being worked on.

The total value of Turkish direct investments in Albania is over 1,7 billion USD.Over 7000 Albanians are employed in Turkish investments.

The most recent meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was held in November 2011

The last joint Business Forum was held in İstanbul on 27 January 2017, during the visit of H.E. Milva Ekonomi to Turkey.Numerous businessmen representing more than 30 prominent corporations in this Forum which was organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

Some of the leading Turkish investments in Albania are as follows:

- Construction and building: LİMAK, Aydıner (dam construction)

- Energy: Aydıner/Ayen Energy, Kürüm Holding

- Telecommunications: Çalık Holding (Albtelecom)

- Banking: Çalık Holding (BKT)

- Iron and Steel Industry: Kürüm Holding

- Health: Medivia Hospital

- Port Administration: Kürüm Holding

- Mining: Kürüm Holding, Beralb

- Manufacturing: TurTekstil

- Education:

Istanbul Foundation (Shkoder)

- Transportation: Çağatay Logistics

-Machinery: FMT Group

As a result of close interaction and cooperation between the two countries, Albanians have a great interest in Turkey and Turkish language. There are more than three thousand common words in Albanian and Turkish languages due to our historical relations.

Tiran Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center, which was inaugurated during the visit of the Turkish President in December 2009 has been offering Turkish language courses and hosting various cultural activities.

Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in Shkoder (İşkodra) was inaugurated in October, 2012.

There are 12 sister cities between Turkey and Albania.