Albania and Italy sign deals worth 2.5 bln dlrs: PM

‘Albania and Italy have signed important economic agreements for more than two billion euros,’ Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said after overseeing the signing ceremony with Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi.

The agreements are notably for the construction of a regasification plant, an undersea gas pipeline and an electric cable linking Albania and Italy, as well as a large wind farm.

Two other accords anticipate construction of a cement plant and a part of a road south of the Albanian capital Tirana.

‘Italy is interested in strengthening its relations with Albania in all fields,’ Berlusconi, who was in Tirana for a one-day visit, told reporters.

Berlusconi pledged his country would be an ‘advocate of Albania in its efforts to join the European Union.’

Albania, one of the most isolated countries in the world before its communist regime collapsed in 1991, has been invited to join NATO and aspires to achieve EU membership.