Turkey, Albania pledge to further boost ties

By Hurriyet Daily News

Albania and Turkey on Jan. 17 pledged to further boost their ties and increase their economic and cultural relations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Albania to talk with Prime Minister Edi Rama on strengthening bilateral ties and also inaugurate new apartments funded by Turkey for Albanians left homeless by the 2019 earthquake.

Upon landing Erdoğan immediately headed to the northwestern town of Lac, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital Tirana, where Turkey has funded the building of a complex with 522 apartments at a cost of 42 million euros ($48 million).

An international conference less than two months after the Nov. 26, 2019, earthquake which killed 51 people and left 17,000 homeless, committed more than a billion euros to rebuild homes, businesses and public buildings destroyed in the quake. Turkey was a major donor.

Last year Turkey also built a new hospital to help Albania cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey and Albania signed seven agreements in various fields, including media, law enforcement, culture and emergency management.

According to the Turkish Presidency: 

Speaking at a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Rama, President Erdoğan said: “Our trade volume reached some $853 million last year, having grown by nearly 68 per cent. Our goal is now to achieve our $1-billion trade volume goal in a short span of time.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania delivered remarks to reporters following their tête-à-tête and the meeting between the delegations.

Recalling that the houses built by Türkiye in the city of Laç for those whose homes had been destroyed in the 2019 earthquake were delivered earlier in the day, President Erdoğan noted that the 522 houses had been built in a record duration of 13 months, and said: “Thanks be to Allah, we have once again seen a concrete manifestation of the importance we attach to our brotherhood. We will hopefully continue to stand with Albania in good times and bad times from now on as well.”

“ET’HEM BEY MOSQUE IS AN EXEMPLARY MONUMENT”

Stating that the Hajji Et’hem Bey Mosque renovated by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) would also be inaugurated that day, President Erdoğan said: “Besides being a place of worship, Et’hem Bey Mosque is also an exemplary monument that contributes to the historical and touristic fabrics of the city of Tirana. Together with the historical clock tower from the Ottoman era next to it, the mosque is one of the most important extant cultural heritages of Tirana.”

Pointing out that all aspects of the relations between Türkiye and Albania were discussed at the talks, President Erdoğan noted: “We emphasized the importance of the putting into operation of the mechanism of the High Level Cooperation Council. We will hopefully hold the first meeting of the Council in the first part of this year.”

THE FIGHT AGAINST FETO

Underscoring that the fight against FETO terrorist organization was also on the agenda of the talks, President Erdoğan stated: “As you know, this terrorist organization staged an unsuccessful coup attempt on July 15, 2016, targeting our democracy. During that terrorist act, which we foiled thanks to our nation’s resistance, unfortunately our 251 citizens were despicably killed by FETO members and became martyrs.”

“That FETO can still find places of activity in friendly and brotherly Albania deeply hurts our people whose children had died a martyr’s death. It is our most sincere expectation that more concrete, more resolute and swifter steps be taken against the FETO structure in Albania,” the President said.

“THE BIGGEST INVESTOR IN ALBANIA WILL BE TÜRKİYE”

Stating that he discussed with Albanian Prime Minister Rama the economic relations between the two countries, President Erdoğan stressed: “Our trade volume reached some $853 million last year, having grown by nearly 68 per cent. Our goal is now to achieve our $1-billion trade volume goal in a short span of time. The biggest investor in Albania will be Türkiye, taking into account the contracting services as well. The total amount of our investments is 3.5 billion dollars. Over 600 companies of ours provide employment for nearly 15 thousand people. Obviously, we do not consider these figures to be sufficient, they should rise to much higher levels. I believe these figures will further increase with the strong support to be provided by Albanian officials.”

“TÜRKİYE IS A STRONG MEMBER OF NATO”

Answering reporters’ questions following his remarks, President Erdoğan, in response to a question regarding Türkiye’s relations with the European Union and his expectations about the EU’s attitude towards Türkiye in the period ahead, underscored that what mattered to Türkiye was NATO’s attitude rather than the EU’s, and said: “Türkiye is currently a dignified and strong member of NATO. We will always continue to do what falls to us regarding the steps taken concerning NATO, as has been the case so far. We attach great importance to the peace and tranquility of the Balkans. We have thus far done what has fallen to us regarding the peace and tranquility of the Balkans. We are one of the guarantor countries in terms of the assurance and future of the peace and tranquility of the Balkans.”

Yet, addressing to the Albanian Parliament, Turkish President stated that the“Establishment of an environment of lasting peace and stability in the Balkans is among the Turkish foreign policy priorities”. Turkish Presidency’s press release stated:

“WE HAVE AN EXEMPLARY SOLIDARITY WITH ALBANIA WITHIN SEECP”

Stating that the Türkiye-Albania relations had officially been elevated to the level of strategic partnership with the ‘Joint Political Declaration’ signed during Albanian Prime Minister Rama’s visit to Türkiye in early 2021, President Erdoğan pointed out that there would be no unresolved issue so long as Türkiye and Albania joined forces, and said: “Establishment of an environment of lasting peace, security and stability as well as ensuring of good neighborly relations and regional cooperation in the Balkans are among the top priorities of the Turkish foreign policy.”

“Besides our historical ties, our alliance within NATO has a significant place in terms of the security aspect of our relations. Also, we have an exemplary solidarity with Albania under the roof of the South East European Cooperation Process, the only Balkan forum that reflects the common will and unique voice of the Balkans,” the President noted.

“WE EXPECT ALBANIA TO TAKE AN ALL-OUT ACTION AGAINST FETO”

Pointing out that Türkiye would always continue to stand with Albania in every area it needed, President Erdoğan said: “In the similar vein, we wholeheartedly believe that our Albanian friends will respect Türkiye’s sensitivities. Our fight against the FETO terrorist organization, which threatened our democracy by staging a coup attempt, bombed our Parliament and massacred our people, is one of our top priorities. Unfortunately, even after five years after having staged a coup attempt, members of this group still maintain their presence in a noteworthy part of the areas of education and healthcare as well as religious institutions and private sector in Albania.”

President Erdoğan went on to say: “The quicker you get rid of this group, which pose a threat to the national security of Albania as well as of Türkiye and many other countries, the more confident you will look to your future. It is inevitable that this group repeat here the despicable acts it attempted to carry out in our country unless you take immediate action.”

“We expect Albania to take an all-out action against the FETO group in the country and not allow the overshadowing of our relations by such an issue,” President Erdoğan stressed.