Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen sets off on a four-day trip to the West Balkans on Sunday. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP), Justice Minister Alma Zadić (Greens) and a business delegation with representatives from around 30 local companies. The first stop on the journey is Albania, on Tuesday we continue to North Macedonia. In the two EU candidate countries, the Federal President wants to be a “door opener” for local entrepreneurs.
After arriving in Albania on Sunday, Van der Bellen will visit the Ashta hydroelectric power plant in the north of the country, which was built jointly by Verbund and EVN, and the Austrian HTL “Peter Mahringer” in Shkodra. The political talks, which are supposed to focus on EU rapprochement, will take place on Monday.
Austrian companies are hoping for new opportunities in both countries with the start of EU accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia last summer. Economic growth in Albania was 3.2 percent in 2022, well above the EU average. According to the Albanian Chamber of Commerce, local investors are particularly interested in tourism, infrastructure and the energy sector. Albania is currently trying to expand the share of renewable energies. The construction of several solar parks and a hydroelectric power plant and the expansion of wind energy are planned.
