French President Emmanuel Macron called on foreign investors to come to Albania, which he said will join the European Union "in two years."
Europe is "a stable and reliable place," Macron said at the "Priority Europe" economic forum organized by Richard Attias' Future Investment Initiative (FII).
"In this crazy world, let's not underestimate the power of such qualities," Macron said.
The aim of the gathering is to connect European leaders and innovators with sovereign wealth funds and company heads from the Middle East, Asia and the US.
Albania is a "point of entry" into the Balkan region and the wider Mediterranean basin, the French president believes.
"And in two years, for which Prime Minister Edi Rama has a clear mandate, it will join the EU," Macron said.
Rama told Agence France-Presse that his country's EU accession negotiations began in 2022 and added that if they "do all their tasks well" they could "conclude them by 2027," adding that that "would be incredible."
The population of Albania leads the Balkans in support of joining the EU: in 2024, 92 percent of the population said they were ready to vote in a referendum to join the EU, while in Serbia only 40 percent were in favor, according to the French agency.
Agence France-Presse also says that Albania faces "enormous challenges" in fulfilling the conditions for joining the Union, especially in the fight against corruption, and points out that ministers and several senior officials - former President Ilir Meta, the mayor of Tirana and a close associate of Edi Rama - are in custody on suspicion of embezzlement.
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