The conference was hosted by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova and followed a ministerial meeting held by Albania in Tirana in February, which Hoxha said had established a shared political vision for the corridor.

“Our focus today in Sofia is clear: to turn political commitment into concrete implementation. The success of Corridor VIII will not be measured by declarations, but by implementation,” Hoxha said.

For Albania, he said, the goal was to build a single, fully functional corridor rather than a series of disconnected national projects.

Foreign Minister Hoxha described Corridor VIII as more than a transport project, calling it a strategic east-west gateway linking the Adriatic and Black seas and connecting economies, energy networks and security interests.

He said the corridor could make the benefits of European integration tangible even before EU membership by boosting trade, lowering transport costs, attracting investment and improving competitiveness.

Hoxha also highlighted the security dimension of connectivity, saying stronger Corridor VIII infrastructure would improve mobility and resilience and support collective security.

Albania attaches particular importance to advancing military mobility and closer EU-NATO coordination on priority dual-use infrastructure, he said.

“The political consensus already exists. What is needed now is a clear list of priority projects, realistic timelines, stronger coordination among governments and a lasting mechanism to monitor implementation,” Hoxha said.

“Albania is not only committed; we have moved into the implementation phase. We will do our part to turn Corridor VIII from a vision into reality,” he said.

/gj.m/a.f/u.sh/