Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets general assembly members of Albania – Turkey Chamber of industry and trade in Tirana, Albania on October 18, 2018. ( Fatih Aktaş – Anadolu Agency )

By Furkan Naci Top,

Tirana, Albania: Turkey’s investments in Albania total some $2.5 billion, said Turkey’s foreign minister on Thursday.

“Our investments, together with the investments of firms coming from Turkey, is around $2.5 billion, according to our figures,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a group of business people in Albania’s capital Tirana.

“Albania isn’t just a country where we will cooperate in the region, but a real friendly country which we have deep-rooted and historical ties with,” he told the meeting, organized by the Albanian Turkish Chamber of Commerce (ATCC).

On the importance of efforts to promote stability and economic development in the Balkans, Cavusoglu said they also place importance on projects for woman investors.

He added that the 2008 free trade agreement between the two countries needs revision.

“We will start negotiations again for the entrance of more agricultural goods and the inclusion of services and investments.

“We need to revise it with a win-win understanding,” he said.

He also called on Albanian investors to invest in Turkey and to continue working to reach a $1 billion bilateral trade volume from the current $411 million.

Seyhan Pencabligil, the ATCC’s head, also said that Turkish firms in Albania provide 10,000 people with jobs.

—AA