Prime Minister Edi Rama is in France, on an official visit at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, where he signed two cooperation agreements between France and Albania in the field of economy, culture and innovation.
The Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, revealed the details of the two agreements signed between Paris and Tirana.
"I had the honor to sign today in Paris, on behalf of the Albanian Government, two priority agreements with the French Government, a clear sign of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which will pave the way for the development of strategic projects in different, essential sectors for Albania's progress towards membership in the European Union.
The first agreement, signed with Mr. Jean-Noël, Minister for Europe, was an Intergovernmental Agreement of the highest level, which for the first time lays the foundations for cooperation in strategic projects on tourism, water management, environment and waste, innovation, digitization, energy, infrastructure and transport, education, public administration, health and agriculture, initiatives that will be carried out at a bilateral level, as well as by the most well-known French enterprises, thanks to the direct support of the French state.
The second agreement, co-signed with Mrs. Marie-Hélene Loison, Deputy Director General of the French Development Agency (AFD) and Ambassador of France to Albania, Mrs. Catherine Suard, paves the way for the financing of the transformative program entitled "Green and Sustainable Development". Within this initiative, Albania will be supported in the amount of 120 million euros by the French Development Agency, a fund that will serve as a catalyst for the implementation of projects and transformative reform undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
A special thanks goes to the mutual teams that worked on the negotiation and drafting of these agreements, which underlines the historic and excellent moment of the partnership between the French Government and the Albanian Government, with the commitment to mutual progress and development", writes Gonxhe on social networks.