The Albanian delegation in this summit chaired by PM Edi Rama and ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economy Ditmir Bushati and Arben Ahmetaj held a series of important meetings.
The discussions focused on two important infrastructure projects, construction of the Adriatic- Ionian highway as differently called “The Blue Corridor” which follows the trail along the coastline from Croatia, Montenegro and Albania and descends to Greece. This project is expected to boost economic development and substantially upgrade the coastal infrastructure.
Another important infrastructure project is construction of the Durres-Pristina-Nish highway. Apart from linking the three countries, this highway will become the gateway of Serbia to the Adriatic Sea via Albania. To discuss this project, PM of Albania Edi Rama, PM of Kosovo Isa Mustafa and of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic held a coordinating meeting with the participation of European Investment Bank Commissioner Hoyer, Commissioner Johannes Hahn, Austria’s Foreign Minister Kurz, representatives of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and European Bank for Investment.
PM Rama stressed that the major infrastructure projects either the Nis- Pristina- Durres highway or the Adriatic-Ionian one are European projects which boost inter-connection for the Western Balkans.
Serb PM Aleksandar Vucic, highlighting the importance of the Nis- Prishtina- Durres highway said that thanks to this project the distance between Belgrade and Pristina will be cut to less than three hours, whereas the Durres port will become the closest destination to the sea for Serbia.
According to Minister of Economy, Ahmetaj, the negotiations conducted by PM Rama over the regional projects with direct impact on Albania have come to fruition with the feasibility study on the Adriatic-Ionian highway getting underway this September. Also, the Nis-Pristina-Durres corridor boosts connectivity with Kosovo and Serbia and also increases the opportunity of Durres port to become a commercial hub in the region.
The costs of these investments are beyond the reach of regional governments which are struggling to cut public debt. At issue in Vienna summit were the opportunities for European financial institutions to guarantee the funding of these projects.
Source: ATSH.