TIRANA, Feb 19 /ATA/ – Finance Minister Petrit Malaj on Thursday invited French investors to expand their presence Albania, highlighting investment potential in the country’s tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and digitalization.
Malaj made the remarks during a meeting in Tirana with France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Nicolas Forissier, and his accompanying delegation.
The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation and prospects for further strengthening ties, with a focus on European integration, sustainable development and boosting investment flows.
Malaj thanked France for its continued support for Albania’s reform agenda and its European Union membership bid, noting in particular French President Emmanuel Macron’s public backing for Albania’s goal of completing the technical alignment process with EU legislation by 2027.
Talks also covered the role of the French Development Agency (Agence Francaise de Developpement AFD), which has become one of Albania’s key development partners.
Since 2021, AFD has committed 330 million euros, including 270 million euros in policy-based budget support loans for the energy, green development and gender sectors, and 60 million euros for infrastructure investments, the finance ministry said.
Of five agreements signed with AFD, three sovereign loans have been fully disbursed, while two are currently being implemented. Cooperation with France is expected to expand further in areas including energy, water, digitalisation, information technology and the environment.
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