Donors Pledge €1.15 billion to Albania

TIRANA, February 17

Donor pledges exceeded expectations at the conference ‘Together for Albania’ held on Monday in Brussels. International donors raised Euro 1.15 billion in aid to rebuild homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
“Concluding International Donors’ Conference for Albania: proud to announce a collective pledge of € 1.15 billion, our common effort to rebuild the country. A strong message to the people of Albania: we care! We will now put in motion implementation fast,” European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Oliver Varhelyi tweeted following the conference.

Concluding International Donors’ Conference for Albania: proud to announce a collective pledge of € 1.15 billion, our common effort to rebuild the country. A strong message to the people of Albania: we care! We will now put in motion implementation fast. #Together4Albania pic.twitter.com/f9DhkXzmWb

— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) February 17, 2020

Delegations from the EU, the Western Balkans, representatives from other countries outside of Europe, as well as from international organizations and international financial institutions, including the UN and the World Bank attended the International Donors’ Conference.

“No one can fill the void left by those who lost their lives. Yet together we can help Albania start over again. Together we can build schools and hospitals that meet the highest standards of seismic safety. Together we can reinforce Albania’s civil protection capability. Together we can make your country stronger than it was before the quake,” European Commission President von der Leyen said in her opening remarks.

“We will make sure that the pledges are delivered fully and on time. And we will make sure that our investment has the strongest impact on the ground – in full transparency and accountability,” the EC President highlighted.

Source/photo credit: ec.europa.eu