Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a new regional hospital built by Turkey in Fier. It came three months following Erdogan’s promise to Rama to have the hospital completed before the April 25 elections in Albania.  The “Regional Memorial Hospital” of Fier will be part of the Albanian public healthcare system but jointly administered by Albania and Turkey, according to a model for decentralization of hospital management that the Albanian government has planned to expand througout the country. Speaking to a crowd of Socialist Party supporters and Turkish officials at the inauguration ceremony, Rama thanked Erdogan for keeping his promise to build the hospital before general elections, and for his “special love, attention and respect” for Albania.  In a live connection from Ankara, Erdogan said he was proud that Turkey was able to complete the construction in a short time. The President added that it was a result of the strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries. The hospital cost Turkey about €70 million, Erdogan said. It occupies over 17,000 square meters, it has 6 operating rooms, and 130 beds. In total, 387 medical staff from 23 specialty fields will be employed, of which 331 Albanian and 56 Turkish. Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said the agreement for the joint administration of the hospital can be extended each year. His Albanian counterpart Ogerta Manastirliu clarified that today marked the inauguration of the hospital but its operation is planned to start one month later, May 20. She praised the “hospital autonomy” model of administration, which she said will be extended in all Albanian hospitals if they win another term in office. The plan to transform Albania’s public hospitals into entities with financial and administrative  autonomy is not public but the government plans to rely on Turkey’s experience in reforming its healthcare system. https://exit.al/en/2021/04/21/rama-erdogan-inaugurate-albanian-turkish-hospital-ahead-of-albanian-elections/

The USAID and Creative Business Solutions (CBS) marked the conclusion of their 5-year SmartCapital partnership project in an online event on Wednesday. Results presented by the implementing partners showed the project assisted 1,000 agribusinesses to secure $59 million for new investments and led to the opening of 1,500 new jobs.   SmartCapital aimed at enabling access to financing for farmers and agribusinesses, support for obtaining modern technologies, assistance in the use of related digital platforms and the certification of Albanian products in line with international standards. USAID representative in Albania, Mikaela Meredith noted that the project experience legacy will continue to help farmers grow their businesses. She commended Creative Business Solutions, the project implementing partner whose activity focuses on consulting, for their work and plans to establish a private equity fund in the region. CBS Executive Director and President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania, Enio Jaco said that the project’s major priorities were to bring the agriculture sector business community closer to European standards and to strengthen trade relations between the U.S. and Albania. He laid out to participants  the three key pillars on which support for the business community will continue: Consultancy Services on technical assistance for businesses, Digital Platforms to facilitate the connection among financial institutions and agribusiness community, as well as the sale of agricultural produce in international markets through e-commerce, the first Private Equity Fund in Albania will offer entrepreneurs financing opportunities outside the banking sector.     Over the project implementation period, CBS, USAID’s partner, developed two digital platforms to facilitate crediting for farmers. LORES connects farmers to banks and facilitates the crediting of the agriculture sector, while Agro Trade is the first e-commerce platform in Albania enabling the export of Albanian products to international markets. CBS will continue to offer technical assistance to farmers through its three branches in Tirana, Korce and Lushnje. Serge Guay, an international banking expert stressed the importance of employing financial technology products for SME development in the country, as a necessity driven even more by the situation created by the Covid-19 global pandemic. Speaking of the Albanian equity market initiative by CBC, Gavin Ryan, World Bank expert on private equity funds and SmartCapital consultant, underlined the potential for development of the Albanian SME sector and opportunities such alternative financing would create. https://exit.al/en/2021/04/21/usaid-cbs-project-leads-to-59m-in-investments-1500-new-jobs-in-agriculture/

Kukes Airport will is an airport for low-cost flights and the first destinations will be Germany, Switzerland and Italy. This is according to the information given by Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku on Facebook. The first flight will take place on 18 April from the UK to Albania. Fights between the two destinations are currently suspended and it’s illegal for people to travel from the UK, abroad for holidays. Those that do travel are required to quarantine for two weeks else face stiff financial penalties. The minister said that employees of the airport will be from the local area (Kukes) with the exception of technical staff. She said that on 20 April, the government will sign the contract for the construction of the Vlora Airport. The Vlora Airport plans have resulted in criticism from environmental groups who state that it would cause “irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the Vjosa-Narte Protected Landscape.” The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the region as a Category V protected landscape. This means it has a distinct and valuable character in terms of its ecological, biological, cultural, aesthetic, and other features. It is also in the Albanian Protected Area Network, is an Important Bird Area, and a Key Biodiversity Area. It almost meets the criteria to be classified as a Wetland of International Importance. It has even been nominated by the government as a candidate site for the Emerald Network under the Bern Convention. https://exit.al/en/2021/04/17/kukes-airport-will-operate-with-low-cost-flights/