Tokyo – The Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) has strengthened Albania’s economic engagement with Japan following high-level meetings in Tokyo with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), marking a new phase in bilateral cooperation focused on trade, investment and private sector development.
The meetings were led by AIDA’s Executive Director, Lura Saro Plaku, who presented Albania as a competitive and reliable destination for Japanese investors, underlining the country’s macroeconomic stability, ongoing structural reforms and strategic position as a gateway to the Western Balkans and European markets. She emphasised that Albania’s priorities include attracting high-quality foreign direct investment, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and increasing exports to advanced markets such as Japan.
Japanese counterparts welcomed Albania’s reform trajectory and highlighted the country’s growing potential in key sectors including renewable energy, information technology, agro-processing and sustainable tourism. Representatives of JETRO noted that Albania offers tangible opportunities for Japanese companies seeking to expand their footprint in Europe, adding that closer business-to-business links, trade missions and joint investment forums could play a decisive role in translating interest into concrete projects.
Officials from JICA expressed their readiness to support Albania’s development agenda through technical assistance, knowledge transfer and pilot projects, particularly in the areas of digitalisation, innovation and SME capacity-building. They underlined that long-term cooperation should be anchored in projects that deliver sustainable economic impact and contribute to skills development and productivity growth.
In her remarks, Lura Saro Plaku stressed that Albania is seeking a long-term, results-oriented partnership with Japan, focused not only on capital inflows but also on technology transfer and the adoption of advanced management standards. She highlighted the importance of promoting “Made in Albania” products in the Japanese market and fostering direct links between Albanian and Japanese enterprises as a means of diversifying exports and strengthening economic resilience.
The discussions concluded with a shared commitment to deepen institutional dialogue and to identify priority initiatives in the short and medium term. The Tokyo meetings are seen as a significant step in advancing Albania–Japan economic relations, laying the groundwork for new investment flows, enhanced trade exchanges and closer cooperation between the two business communities.
