Albania: A New Frontier
The Investment Forum promotes Albania as an emerging investment hub, unlocking strategic opportunities for Investors
- Showcased Albania’s potential in key sectors: renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, and a favorable business environment
- Follow-up event in Tirana within 2025 to be announced
Vienna/Tirana, 24 September 2025
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and Raiffeisen Bank Albania (RBAL), in partnership with the Albanian Investment Corporation, successfully hosted the forum “Albania: A New Frontier” in Vienna. The aim of this forum was to promote and present Albania as a strategic investment destination and a regional hub for sustainable growth, innovation, and cross-bordercollaboration.
Bringing together senior government officials, global and local companies, and representatives of international institutions, the event highlighted Albania’s growing potential across key sectors as renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate and tourism, and its increasingly business-friendly environment.
The presence of Mr. Edi Rama, Prime Miniter of Albania, accompanied by a delegation of senior political leaders, underlined the country's commitment to encourage a stable and attractive environment for foreign investment. Mr. Edi Rama emphasized Albaniaas the next strategic gateway for investment in the Western Balkans,highlighting energy reforms, solar projects, and infrastructure opportunities.
Johann Strobl, CEO RBI, and Valerie Brunner, Board Member of Corporate & Investment Banking in RBI, emphasized the bank's dedication to Albania's economic development and the promising opportunities on the horizon. “We see strong fundamentals, a stable banking environment, and opportunities across industries. As a long-term partner in Albania, we are investing in its future.” says Johann Strobl, CEO of RBI.
“We notice strong investor interest in Albania, especially in sectors like renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate, and agri-business,” says Valerie Brunner, Member of the Management Board for Corporate & Investment Banking at RBI. Mrs. Brunner also added that “Albania is rapidly strengthening its innovation capacity, driven by EU partnerships, national reforms, a broad SME landscape,
and a vibrant IT community”
In this remarks, Mr. Christian Cancaris, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Albania said: “We are the biggest European Bank in the country and through this forum, we reaffirm our commitment to connect international capital with transformative projects in Albania”.
Ms. Elona Koçi, Corporate Board Member in Raiffeisen Bank Albania said “I am very excited about the unique momentum of opportunities that Albania is experiencing right now. I believe it is our shared responsibility to help transform these opportunities into lasting economic advancement for our country.
During the follow up sessions and panels on topics such as the ease of doing business, investor climate, sectoral development, energy, infrastructure, and real estate, highlighted concrete opportunities for long-term partnerships and transformative projects, with a particular emphasis on Tourism as one of the main drivers of growth for Albania. The country is transitioning from a price-based tourism model to a value-based model, offering higher-quality experiences, longer stays, and sustainable development. This transformation is supported by strong economic foundations and a clear commitment to strengthening Albania's role as animportant regional destination.
Looking ahead, the Vienna forum marks the first step of the “Albania: A New Frontier” initiative, with a follow-up event in Tirana to be announced. This next chapter aims to deepen investor insights into Albania's progress and translate discussions into actionable projects and partnerships.