Albanian-Portuguese relations

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Relations between Albania and Portugal
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The Albanian-Portuguese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Albania and Portugal . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since 1977 .

The bilateral relations are considered good, if not very intensive. Both states are partners in a large number of international organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe , NATO , the World Trade Organization , the World Bank and various UN organizations . Albania has also been a candidate for accession to the European Union since 2014 , of which Portugal has been a member since 1986. The good Kosovar-Portuguese relations also had a positive effect on Albanian-Portuguese relations .

In 2014, no Portuguese citizens were registered as consular in Albania, while 42 citizens of Albania were registered in Portugal in 2015.

history

Foreign Minister Basha also visited Portugal to promote Albania's membership in NATO

Portugal recognized the independence of Albania on May 25, 1922, which was independent in 1912 and admitted to the League of Nations in 1920 . However, relations did not deepen afterwards: In Albania, which in the 1920s increasingly came under the influence of fascist Italy, partisans fought against the Italian and later the Nazi-German occupation during World War II . After the Wehrmacht withdrew in 1944, Enver Hoxha established communist one-party rule in Albania. Portugal's anti-communist dictatorship under Salazar had remained neutral.

The left-wing Carnation Revolution ended the anti-communist Estado Novo regime in Portugal in 1974 . On June 21, 1977 Albania and Portugal entered into diplomatic relations. As the first Portuguese ambassador to Albania , José Morais da Cunha Matos , Portugal's representative based in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, was accredited on November 17, 1988 .

With the end of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania in 1990 and the stabilization of the country in the 2000s, the country moved closer to European institutions. In this context, there were also several meetings between Albanian and Portuguese ministers and state secretaries. Albania applied for Portuguese support, for example when it joined NATO (ratified in 2009).

In 1997, the Albanian Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu was the first high-ranking Albanian politician to make a state visit to Portugal. At the world exhibition in Lisbon , the Albania Days took place from 9 to 11 September 1998, at which the country presented itself. Accompanied by an Albanian commission under Prime Minister Nano , this represented the most intensive bilateral contact to date. A series of bilateral meetings and medium-level collaborations followed. The visit of the Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado to Tirana in 2007 during the Portuguese EU Presidency then marked another high point. Albanian politicians also visited Portugal occasionally afterwards, for example during the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010.

diplomacy

Portugal does not have its own embassy in Albania; the Portuguese representation in the Italian capital Rome is responsible . There is a Portuguese honorary consulate in the Albanian capital Tirana , and some consular services are offered in the premises of the French embassy in Tirana.

The Albanian representation in Portugal resides at Rua Joaquim António de Aguiar number 64 in the Lisbon municipality of São Sebastião da Pedreira and reports to the Albanian embassy in Rome. Albanian honorary consulates have been set up in Porto and Funchal on Madeira Island .

economy

Logo of the Portuguese pharmaceutical manufacturer BIAL : Medicines are among the most important export goods from Portugal to Albania

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP does not have a contact office in Albania; The AICEP branch in the Bulgarian capital Sofia is responsible.

In 2010, both countries decided to found the bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry Câmara de Comércio e Industria Luso Albanesa .

In 2016, Portugal exported goods worth 6.10 million euros to Albania ( 2015 : 5.99 million; 2014 : 3.83 million; 2013 : 2.97 million; 2012 : 2.16 million) , thereof 31.8% chemical-pharmaceutical products, 19.2% agricultural products, 14.7% metal goods, 13.3% paper and cellulose and 5.4% machines and devices.

In the same period, Albania delivered goods worth EUR 0.31 million to Portugal ( 2015 : 0.16 million; 2014 : 0.10 million; 2013 : 0.08 million; 2012 : 0.04 million) , thereof 37.7% fuel, 27.1% machines and devices, 20.4% plastics, 5.1% vehicles and vehicle parts and 4.6% paper and cellulose.

This put Albania 115th among buyers and 153rd among suppliers in Portuguese foreign trade, while Portugal was 57th among buyers and 44th among suppliers in Albania's foreign trade in 2015.

Culture

The most important cultural institution in bilateral relations is the Luso-Albanian foundation Luso-Illyrian Institute for Human Development (iLIDH). The foundation, founded in 2007 by Portuguese people with a connection to the Balkans in Mafra , Portugal , already refers to the Balkan region, to which Albania belongs ( Illyria ), and to Portugal (via its mythical indigenous people, the Lusitans ). The foundation initiates and supports a large number of projects in the areas of education, culture, social sciences, research and development cooperation, especially in administration and organizational management. After offices in Prague and Brussels, an iLIDH representative also opened in Tirana in 2012.

Agon Mehmeti (in the Malmö FF jersey , 2010) is one of the few Albanians who also played in Portugal

Sports

The Albanian national soccer team and the Portuguese national team have met seven times so far, for the first time in Tirana on October 9, 1996. The game in Group 9 of qualifying for the 1998 World Cup was won by Portugal 3-0. Overall, the Portuguese selection remained victorious five times, Albania won once and there was a draw once (as of April 2017).

Portuguese footballers are very rarely active in Albania, and Albanian players are hardly more likely to compete in Portuguese clubs. These few examples include the Albanian international Agon Mehmeti , who played for the Portuguese club SC Olhanense in 2013/14 .

The Albanian and Portuguese women's national teams have met twice so far. The Portuguese won both games (as of April 2017).

Web links

Commons : Relations between Albania and Portugal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Overview of diplomatic relations with Albania at the diplomatic institute in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ a b c d Website of the Albanian Embassy in Portugal , accessed on May 22, 2017
  3. ↑ Website on Portuguese migration in Albania at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on May 22, 2017
  4. ↑ Number of foreigners in the official foreigner statistics by district , Portuguese Immigration and Border Authority SEF, accessed on May 22, 2017
  5. ^ Entry on Albania in the portal for Portuguese Abroad and travelers of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry, accessed on January 25, 2018
  6. ↑ Overview of Portuguese contacts in Albania on the website of the Albanian Embassy in Lisbon, accessed on January 25, 2018
  7. ↑ a b c Bilateral Economic Relations between Portugal and Albania , AICEP website, accessed on May 22, 2017
  8. ↑ Web page iLIDH at the Albanian Embassy in Portugal (Albanian and English), accessed on May 22, 2017
  9. ↑ Website of iLIDH's own Universidade dos Valores in Mafra ( Portuguese and English), accessed on May 22, 2017
  10. ↑ see list of international matches of the Portuguese national soccer team # international match balance sheets
  11. ↑ see list of the internationals of the Portuguese national soccer team # international match balance sheets