Present at this event, Prime Minister Edi Rama appreciated that a group of very good architects with international experience and prestige have been included in this competition.

“Today, we open another chapter of the work of the Albanian Investment Corporation, a chapter that has to do with the network of former government residences that have long been in the shadow as a result of them not being used for a long time due to loss of function”, said PM Rama.

The prime minister highlighted the experience of two residences in Tirana that have already been transformed, one into a guest house of the Albanian state for personalities from various fields and the other into a center for young artists from all over the world, in collaboration with the renowned French foundation “Art Explora”.

“This is the way to turn these assets into public interest and on the other hand to revitalize them by presenting the state as a partner and giving the opportunity to entrepreneurship to transform them into a source of income”, he added.

Focusing on the two projects for which today’s competition is being held, the prime minister said that one of them is for the villa of the Albanian leader and dictator in Vlora and the other for another government residence in Velipoja area.

“It is a new way that we are successfully using, but above all where we practically see the great potential that the use of state assets has to involve the public through the state as an interested party. This is changing step by step the formulas of interaction with the private sector, which until yesterday have been basic, very direct and have deprived the state of many capacities to generate revenues”, Rama added.

In conclusion, Rama expressed his belief that the competition will be another added value of architects among the best in Europe and the world today. /p.s./

Employment is the main reason for the residence permits of foreigners in Albania in 2021.

INSTAT published today the report “Foreigners in Albania” for 2021, according to which, the number of foreigners with a residence permit in Albania was 14,921 inhabitants, increasing by 9.6%, compared to 2020.

Resident foreigners originating from Iran, Italy and Kosovo constitute the largest number of foreigners with residence permits in Albania in 2021, with 2586, 2324 and 1869 residents, respectively.

In 2021, 10,062 irregular foreigners were recorded in the territory of the country, where most of them are foreigners originating from Syria and Afghanistan, with 67%. /r.e/p.s./