News
CEB iterates support for Albania
12 December 2019
PARIS – The CEB Vice-Governor Tomáš Boček met the Prime-Minister and other senior government officials and mayors while an official visit to Albania. The Vice-Governor also reviewed progress on the ground for two ongoing investments that benefit from CEB financing support: the expansion and rehabilitation of the University Hospital in Tirana and the construction of the Kapshticë Registration and Temporary Accommodation Centre for Migrants.
The meetings held with Prime-Minister Edi Rama, Finance Minister Anila Denaj, Dritan Agolli, General Director of the Albanian Development Fund, and Arben Ahmetaj, President of the National Committee for Reconstruction, focused on the country’s short-term financing needs, in light of the damage caused by the recent earthquakes, and on the means through which the Bank could contribute to the reconstruction efforts. Prime Minister Rama has indicated his appreciation of the cooperation that Albania has established with the Bank. He has also designated the reconstruction of kindergartens, schools, and primary healthcare units as an immediate priority that the Government would be interested in discussing with the CEB further.
The exchanges with Deputy Mayor of Tirana, Anuela Ristani, and the Major of Korçë, Sotiraq Filo, focused on potential direct cooperation with the Bank in support of municipal infrastructure investments, which would thus capitalise on ongoing investments in health, tourism, social housing, and refugee reception infrastructures that the Bank has been supporting in their region in recent years.
As he concluded his visit to Albania Vice-Governor Boček said: “Albania’s capacity to address immediate and medium-term social investment needs is seriously being put to the test these days. As the only bank with a social mandate in Europe, we feel it is our duty to find ways to contribute to ongoing efforts. The discussions we had this week have paved the way for concrete actions on our side and more announcements on that will follow soon. In addition, we will continue to work on the projects we have in our portfolio, which address social housing and healthcare needs and enable the sustainable development of low-income communities, and we are looking forward to the Donor Conference that has been announced by European Commission President von der Leyen.”
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Albania joined the Council of Europe Development Bank in June 1999. Since then, the Bank has provided funding in support of investments in social housing, health, and in rural and urban regeneration and sustainable tourism. In addition, the CEB has mobilised donor funding from the Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF) to construct a registration and temporary accommodation centre for irregular migrants, which was inaugurated in October 2019.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.