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Albanian foreign policy since its independence has maintained a policy of complementarism by trying to have friendly relations with all countries. It entertains diplomatic relations with 115 countries in the world.
Contents
- Objectives of Albanian foreign policy
- Countries with diplomatic relations with Albania
- International disputes
- Foreign aid
- International organization participation
- References
Albania is a member of more than 48 different international organizations including the United Nations (and all of its main specialized agencies and boards), the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and La Francophonie.
The main factors defining Albanian foreign policy consist of geopolitical location, population, economic crisis, and ties with Albanian diaspora throughout the world. Albania has concentrated on maintaining good relations with its Balkan neighbors, gaining access to European-Atlantic security institutions, and securing close ties with the United States.
Objectives of Albanian foreign policy
The main objectives of Albanian foreign policy are:
On 14 January 2011, Albania signed a pact with Italy for a corporal foreign strategy.
The government of Albania is very concerned with developments in neighboring Kosovo, particularly in the post-Dayton agreement period. Although the region is claimed by Serbia to be a Serbian province, Albania recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence on 18 February 2008.
After the fall of the Albanian communist regime in 1991, relations between Greece and Albania became increasingly strained because of widespread allegations of mistreatment by Albanian authorities of the Greek ethnic minority in southern Albania and of the Albanian communities in northern Greece. A wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. The crisis in Greek–Albanian relations reached its peak in late August 1994, when an Albanian court sentenced five members (a sixth member was added later) of the ethnic Greek political party Omonia to prison terms on charges of undermining the Albanian state. Greece responded by freezing all EU aid to Albania, and sealing its border with Albania. In December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the Omonia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four.
There are still other impending issues in the relations between the two countries, regarding many Albanian workers in Greece who have not received legal papers despite promises by the Greek government. In 1996, the two countries signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship and discussed the issues of the status of Albanian refugees in Greece and education in the mother tongue for the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania.
Today, as result of very frequent high-level contacts between the governments and the parliaments, relations between the two countries are regarded as cordial. Greece is a staunch supporter of the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Republic of Albania. Since Albania's NATO entry in May 2009, the Albanian-Greek relations have been developing on all fronts, and especially after the election victory of Edi Rama in 2013, with the Albanian Chief of Foreign Policy, Ralf Gjoni, describing the diplomatic relations between two countries as "excellent". Greece today is Albania's most important European Union ally and NATO partner. At the Albanian government’s request, about 250 Greek military personnel are stationed in Albania to assist with the training and restructuring of the Albanian Armed Forces, as part of the NATO programme. Big projects currently in running between the two countries include the touristic development of the Ionian coastline shared between the two countries, and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which helped boosting the relations of the two countries even further.
Tirana’s relations with the Republic of Macedonia remain friendly, despite occasional incidents involving ethnic Albanians there. Tirana has repeatedly encouraged the Albanian minority’s continued participation in its government.
During the 1990s, after the fall of communism, at the onset of democratic reforms, there were vast waves of illegal immigration from the Albanian ports to Italy. This strained relations between the countries somewhat as Italy had to avert a humanitarian crisis. The tensions reached a peak when an Italian coast guard ship allegedly rammed and sank an Albanian ship carrying 120–130, 75 of whom drowned, on 28 March 1997. Eventually the two countries began joint operations aimed at stopping illegal smuggling operations. Italy has also provided financial assistance to Albania to help its ailing economy.
Countries with diplomatic relations with Albania
Countries with diplomatic relations with Albania are:
International disputes
The Albanian government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks full recognition of the declared independence from Serbia; Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government. A handful of Albanian troops have participated in the US-led invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Albanian policy is very favorable to that of the United States and European Union.
Foreign aid
The $30 million Albanian-American Enterprise Fund (AAEF), launched in 1994, is actively making debt and equity investments in local businesses. AAEF is designed to harness private sector efforts to assist in the economic transformation. U.S. assistance priorities include promotion of agricultural development and a market economy, advancement of democratic institutions (including police training), and improvements in quality of life.
International organization participation
The Republic of Albania is member in these international organizations.