Top Channel has learned that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will visit Albania by July 8th. The first visit of a German Chancellor in Albania was that of Gerhard Shroeder, in 1999, 12 years after diplomatic ties between Albania and Germany were back on track.
This visit will have a political and economic focus, and it will be the third meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama, after the two others held in Berlin.
Germany has brought attention to Balkan in the past years and sees Albania as an important partner in the region.
This meeting will also be a good opportunity to make a balance of the achievements made so far and pushing forward the commitments taken at the Regional Conference of Berlin last August.
Merkel’s visit is considered as another step of the increased care of Germany to Balkan, an area traditionally under Russian influence.
“In a long term, we would want Balkan to join the EU. It is in our joint economic, political and strategic interest”./TCH/