Kosovo and Albania striving for an internal market

Albania and Kosovo, where 90 per cent of the population are ethnic Albanians, want to reduce bilateral trade barriers to a large extent. This is confirmed by the Albanian Minister for Economic Development, Milva Ekonomi, today in Tirana, according to news agency ATA.

She spoke at a conference entitled “Pursuing an Internal Market for Albania-Kosovo”. Ekonomi and the Kosovar Minister of Trade, Hykmete Bajrami, emphasized the efforts of their governments to achieve this goal.

Irene Beqiraj, advisor to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Economic Questions, said uniform standards would favor foreign investment.

Analyst Ilir Ciko, however, made it clear that there is still a long way to go to an internal market Albania-Kosovo. The trade relations between the two poor countries are weak.

In particular, manufacturing and the industry in Albania and Kosovo are little developed. Most foreign investment has so far been in the services sector.