Rama to DW: Albania is a model of freedom, not in a crisis of trust; we will talk about the project when it is ready, my goal remains attracting foreign investment

Prime Minister Edi Rama has spoken about the protests that have been taking place in Albania for several weeks.

During an interview with Deutsche Welle, given while he was attending the “r26” business and innovation festival in Bochum, Germany, Rama addressed the protests, as well as his views on the country’s development, artificial intelligence and the challenges related to democracy.

For a month, Albanian citizens have been protesting every day against the project approved by the government to build a luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner. What initially began as opposition to this investment has over time turned into a broader political movement.

In the interview, the journalist first raised the issue of artificial intelligence, democracy, power and governance. She stressed that Albania is expected to receive a major financial injection, referring to around 4 billion euros expected to come from tourism developments on the coast, and asked what role artificial intelligence would play in monitoring these investments to ensure transparency over where this money goes.

Rama replied that he does not see the connection between these two issues, but added that artificial intelligence can help institutions and society gain more knowledge every day and benefit from assistance which, according to him, is entirely unimaginable in terms of its ability to inform and advise. According to him, this is the direction things will take.

In another part of the conversation, the journalist asked him about trust in the architecture of power, saying that Albania is currently experiencing a crisis of trust in it. She mentioned that protesters speak of a lack of democracy, a lack of public consultation and a lack of oversight, and asked how he would convince them that these exist.

Rama rejected this assessment, declaring that there is no crisis of trust in Albania. He said Albania is a beautiful example of freedom and democracy in action, with a boulevard belonging to people from all walks of life, who have their own views and want their voices to be heard. According to him, this is to Albania’s credit and not a problem.

The journalist then steered the discussion toward the idea of beauty, noting that as an artist he understands its importance and the way the transformation of public space can affect how a nation perceives itself. In this context, she asked what it says about the Albania he is building if the country’s future looks like a luxury Trump-Kushner resort.

In response, Rama said they can lecture him on many fields, such as the economy, legal issues, agriculture or healthcare, but not on beauty. He explained that this is not because he is an artist, but because he has served as minister of Culture, as mayor and now as Prime Minister, grounding his way of thinking in beauty, the transformation of public space and urban transformation. According to him, this has been an inseparable part of his journey.

He added that the fact Albania today welcomes 12 million tourists is tied precisely to this effort. For that reason, he stressed, beauty is something he believes in and fights for.

Rama also reacted to the mention of names in the question, telling the journalist she was being prejudiced. He said he could not answer in that way because she was mentioning names, and asked how anyone could answer what a Trump and Kushner project might look like.

According to him, he is not bringing either one or the other as a project. Rama stressed that the project is still under development and that only when it is ready can it then be discussed. He underlined that he will not discuss the people, the personalities or ideological battles with them, describing those as the journalist’s battles and not his own.

In the end, the Prime Minister said that his battle is to bring foreign direct investment to Albania. He also said that his goal is to deliver developments that will not only be major for Albania, but also a gift to Europe.