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"They have risen up against the government with good reason"/ Berisha: DP did not call the protest, but supports it

The President of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, deliv...

"We will not withdraw from high-level tourism projects"/ Rama to AP: Objections come from misinformation

2026-06-10 10:26:00, Politikë CNA

"We will not withdraw from high-level tourism projects"/ Rama to AP:

Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke to the Associated Press regarding the Zvërnec project and the protests that have been taking place in Albania for 10 days.

In an interview with American media , Rama explained that the opposition to the project in question comes only from misinformation, while saying that this development will be transformative for the Albanian nation, as it will introduce the high-level tourism market.

Asked if he could withdraw from the project, Rama refused, adding: " Withdraw from what?"

Meanwhile, regarding the impact of the investment on the environment, the Prime Minister clarified that a formal assessment has not yet begun, because according to him, the development plan has not been finalized. He said that architects and international environmental specialists are still shaping the proposal.

"When it comes to the environment, there is still no project, there is still no environmental impact assessment, because this is still a planning process ," he said.

Rama argued that Albania has a strong record on nature conservation, pointing to bans on hunting and deforestation that he said helped flamingo populations recover.

"We have fantastic documentation of how wildlife in Albania recovered thanks to the 10-year hunting moratorium," Rama said.

The prime minister said the criticism is full of “half-truths,” while suggesting that some of the negative reaction to the project was being amplified by external interference, citing what he described as a long-term Iranian cyber campaign against Albania.

"There is a lot of manipulation. There are a lot of half-truths that become bigger and bigger lies every hour ," he said.

During the interview with AP, Rama explained how Jared Kushner's proposal for investment in Albania came about. According to him, the proposal began by chance during a dinner in southern Albania with Kushner and President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Months later, Kushner, at a meeting of world leaders and business executives in Davos, Switzerland, expressed interest in investing in Albania.