News

In the framework of the historical visit of the President of the State of Israel, H. E. Mr. Isaac Herzog, in Albania, who was accompanied by an economic delegation, the Economic Department in the Embassy of Israel in Albania organized Innovate and Cooperate: Israel – Albania Economic Roundtable. The delegation comprised high-level officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, the Israel Innovation Authority, Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Israel, the Export Institute, and the Manufacturers Association of Israel.

FIAA is delighted to have been part of this roundtable organized by the Economic Department in the Embassy of Israel.

#FIAA #ForeignInvestors #Albania #Israel #EconomicCooperation

The members of FIAA’s Energy Industry Council convened on September 11 to address common concerns and challenges facing the energy industry in Albania. During the meeting, the committee members voted for a new Chair of the Council, succeeding Mr. Constantin von Alvensleben, who departed from Albania. FIAA extends its gratitude to Mr. von Alvensleben for his valuable contributions to the Council and his dedication to FIAA, and wishes him continued success in future endeavors.
The Council is pleased to welcome Mr. Silvio Pedrazzi as the new Chair of FIAA’s Energy Industry Council. Mr. Pedrazzi, a former FIAA President with several mandates, is now actively involved in the energy sector. He represents Blessed Investment Group, whose portfolio includes Blue 1 Shpk, a company that owns and operates a 50 MW solar plant in Topojë, Fier County.
Mr. Pedrazzi was elected through regular voting by the present energy members to lead the council for the upcoming term. He is expected to provide support and expertise in addressing the industry’s challenges, while continuing active consultations with the government.

On September 10th FIAA welcomed a delegation of INETUM, a French IT company, interested in the Albanian market, accompanied by a representative of the French Embassy and the director of Albania’s Startup Agency, aiming at increasing the presence of French investors in the ICT BPO sector.

Albania has become an important destination for the ICT BPO sector by offering qualified workforce, fluent in several foreign languages; competitive labor cost; good infrastructure; attractive investment incentives; favorable geographic location and free access to important markets.

On behalf of FIAA, Mr. Diego Pisa, a FIAA Board Member as well as Teleperformance Italy Group president, shared important insights about the opportunities and challenges that the Albanian market offers to foreign companies, and shared very interesting data from the experience of Teleperformance as one of the pioneers in this field in Albania. Furthermore, Mr. Pisa invited the French experts to strongly recommend French investments in Albania, as the country remains attractive, despite issues arising with emigration, cost increase of labor force, and the Euro/Lek exchange rate.

#FIAA #ForeignInvestors#Albania#France #ICT#BPO #PromoteAlbania #AlbaniaDigitalHub

The draft law on the establishment of a National Economic Chamber in Albania gathered around 20 business organizations in Tirana to discuss on several occasions on its content and necessity. The business organizations have been actively engaged by expressing their concerns on the draft content, directed to the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Business Climate, the Prime Minister of Albania, and the Diplomatic Corps in the country.

Under the leadership of FIAA’s President Balazs Revesz, and with the active collaboration of its members, FIAA conducted one of its flagship initiatives to date, aimed at collecting the most pressing issues and concerns in the business lines where its members operate.

FIAA’s Board conducted in may 15th a very fruitful business lunch with the Head of the EU Delegation to Albania, Mr. Silvio Gonzato, the Ambassador of Austria, Mr. Christian Steiner, the Ambassador of Greece, Mrs. Konstantina Kamitsi, and Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Albania, Mr. Hubert Perr. The meeting aimed to follow up on the good cooperation that FIAA has established with the EU delegation in Albania since its very start based on the fact that most of FIAA’s businesses are coming from EU countries.

In April 24th, FIAA welcomed in a meeting Dr. Laszlo Orlos, Head of the Office of International Affairs at the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency and Mrs. Katalin Beszteri, Trade and Commercial Attaché at the Embassy of Hungary in Tirana.

FIAA reacted on the notification of the Ministry of Finance on the draft instruction “On Implementing the Agreements on Avoiding Double Taxation and Preventing Fiscal Evasion” by collecting and sharing the suggestions of its members, elaborated in detail by its Tax Committee.

FIAA thanks Mrs. Neda Lukic and the magazine The Region for publishing the interview with Mrs. Marinela Jazoj, which focused on the green transition of Albania which is exemplary in the whole Balkan region and on FIAA’s activities in support of Albania’s business community and business climate.

Read the full interview here on page 102.

FIAA’s member, Colliers has announced the prestigious achievement of Park Avenue Tower being awarded the first BREEAM green certification in Albania, achieving an Excellent rating by BRE, the British Institute renowned for its stringent standards in commercial building sustainability (link: https://bregroup.com/products/breeam/).  Throughout the entire certification process Park Avenue Tower was advised by Colliers, licensed sustainability advisers by BRE.