Ibrahimaj: Exports and domestic production, at the center of the new economic development model
The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj, in the presence of Prime Minister Edi Rama, participated in the "Export On" conference, where she presented the government's vision and policies for promoting exports and strengthening domestic production, as key pillars of Albania's new economic development model.
In her speech, the Minister emphasized that the Albanian economy has marked steady improvements in recent years, with growth in gross domestic product, investments, employment and wages, reflecting a positive climate for business and the private sector. However, she noted the need to transform the economic structure, moving from an economy based mainly on services and domestic consumption, towards a model based on investments, exports and increased productivity.
Minister Ibrahimaj underlined that, despite the growth of Albanian exports in recent years, their structure is dominated by services, while exports of goods need stronger support, due to their direct connection to the country's production capacity and industrialization. In this context, the minister announced that a new industrial policy will be adopted in 2026 to promote domestic production.
The focus of the minister's speech was the Export Promotion Program, approved in December last year, which is based on four main pillars: awareness and promotion, simplification and digitalization of procedures, harmonization of standards with the European Union, and financial instruments.
In this context, she praised the role of AIDA and the Export On platform in increasing awareness and informing businesses, and announced that the law on "Made in Albania" will be approved this year, which aims to build and promote the national brand, in accordance with European Union standards.
The Minister also stressed the importance of digitalizing trade procedures, through the opening of a single window for exporters and the implementation of World Bank projects for trade facilitation. She announced that a national program to support business in the European integration process will be launched soon, with a focus on increasing capacities and financing for achieving standards.
The Development Bank will also play a key role in supporting exports, serving as an instrument for financing, modernizing industry, and securing exports, reducing costs and risks for Albanian businesses.
In conclusion, Minister Ibrahimaj emphasized the importance of continuous dialogue with business and guaranteed that their concerns will be translated into concrete supportive policies, with the aim of Albanian businesses being more competitive and benefiting from accessing the European common market.
The full speech of the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj:
Hello everyone, thank you very much.
In fact, the Prime Minister concluded his speech by saying that we will elaborate in more detail on all those elements that were left unmentioned. I think that all the components that will be part of the discussions of the “Export On” platform were mentioned quite well, from the needs, support, plans and projects that we have. However, I will try to be more exhaustive.
Following my speech, I would like, first of all, to thank AIDA for the idea, for organizing the activity and for opening the Export On platform. But, above all, I would like to congratulate it, as this event also comes within the framework of the 15th anniversary of the agency's establishment. I am glad that AIDA is now a consolidated institution, an institution that supports Albanian business, Albanian investments, whether domestic or foreign, in promoting exports and in connecting Albanian companies with international export markets.
Indeed, the Albanian economy has been improving in recent years. We have had a steady increase in gross domestic product, a steady increase in investments, the number of businesses, employment and wages. All of these are indicators of a business climate that has boosted the private sector and the domestic economy.
On the other hand, if we look at the structure of the economy, we continue to remain mainly an economy based on services and domestic consumption. We want to change the development model of the Albanian economy. We want to create potential and support an economy that is based on investments, exports and, above all, that serves to increase productivity.
But how are we going to do this? What is the structure of exports today? Indeed, Albanian exports have increased in the last five years, but we have seen a shift in the structure. 85% of exports are made up of services, where tourism, as you know and feel, is gaining more and more weight. On the other hand, the weight of goods exports has been decreasing. For the sake of truth, exports of goods, both in value and volume, have increased in the last five years, but services have grown much faster than goods. For this reason, we are cautious and aim to draft policies that particularly support exports of goods, directly linked to the country's productive capacity and industrialization.
For this reason, next year, in 2026, we will adopt an industrial policy that will promote domestic production. However, today I will not dwell on this aspect. Today I want to talk about a program that we approved in December of last year: the Export Promotion Program.
This program is the result of extensive analysis we have conducted, with the aim of identifying the challenges of exporters and the needs of our economy to encourage producers to export. The program is built on four main pillars.
The first pillar is related to awareness. The activity we are developing today, the Eksport On platform and the daily work of AIDA go precisely in this direction. We aim to strengthen the role of AIDA as a key point for promoting exports, but also to better structure economic diplomacy, through a program that will be launched very soon in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the context of promoting exports, the Prime Minister mentioned the product "Made in Albania". During this year, we will draft and approve the law on "Made in Albania", which will help build the brand, marketing inside and outside the country, as well as the recognition and protection of the product, by creating standards in line with those of the European Union.
The second component is related to the simplification and digitalization of procedures. We have had a clear vision from the beginning for the complete digitalization of procedures and, for several years, we have been working with a World Bank project to facilitate trade, mainly at border points and Albanian customs. The single window will soon be opened, where all state operators and businesses will have a single point of contact, without the need to go from institution to institution.
Subsequently, with the second phase of the World Bank project, transit, port authorities and quality infrastructure, necessary for preparing Albanian exporters towards the common European market, will also be addressed.
The third component is related to the harmonization of standards with the European common market. Within the first quarter of the year, a national program for supporting business in the European integration process will be launched, which will focus on awareness, information, capacity building and financing for achieving standards and promoting exports.
The fourth pillar is related to financial instruments. The Development Bank, whose law was approved last year, will play a key role not only in financing and modernizing Albanian industry, but also as an export agency for securing exports, reducing costs and risks for exporters. It will also use European Union instruments to promote domestic production and access the “Made in Albania” brand to European and Western Balkan markets.
All these initiatives aim to strengthen Albanian business. Equally important are the instruments of dialogue, which help us understand the real problems of businesses and translate them into concrete supportive policies. Through AIDA and the structures of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, we will continue to establish working groups to identify and solve problems.
During the analysis we will conduct this year on exports and the "Made in Albania" product, we will also include an in-depth analysis of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, which are essential for promoting domestic production.
I strongly believe that this year should find us all engaged together, so that the policies that will be drafted within the framework of membership in the European Union do not harm the Albanian market, but rather open new perspectives to Albanian businesses and make them more competitive in the common European market.
Thank you very much, Laura, for organizing this event and I wish us all a very successful day together.
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