{"id":657,"date":"2026-06-09T18:38:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=657"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:38:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:38:35","slug":"ap-interview-albanias-leader-defends-kushner-linked-luxury-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=657","title":{"rendered":"AP Interview: Albania\u2019s leader defends Kushner-linked luxury development"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TIRANA, Albania (AP) \u2014 Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is vowing to press ahead with a luxury development<\/span> linked to U.S. President Donald Trump<\/span> \u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner<\/span>, despite a surge in protests against it there.<\/p>\n

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In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Rama dismissed environmental objections as the result of misinformation and said the development was turning Albania<\/span> from a country once ignored by investors into one \u201cwhere the big capital wants to come and the big investors want to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government says the development would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.<\/p>\n

But thousands of demonstrators have joined daily protests<\/span> outside Rama\u2019s office in the capital, Tirana \u2014 including on Tuesday \u2014 against the planned project that includes hotels, apartments, villas and a marina for yachts.<\/p>\n

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The prime minister said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started, even though work has begun to clear land inside a nature reserve.<\/p>\n

Asked if he might step back from the project, Rama refused, adding, \u201cStep back from what?\u201d<\/p>\n

Albania\u2019s anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation related to the project. The government says the land is privately owned, but rival claims over its privatization have emerged.<\/p>\n

\u2018Your country\u2019s absolutely stunning\u2019<\/h2>\n

Rama said Kushner\u2019s proposal began by chance. He recalled a dinner in southern Albania with Kushner, his wife, Ivanka Trump<\/span>, and friends who had stopped in the port of Durres to refuel their boat on the way to Montenegro.<\/p>\n

Months later, Kushner approached him at a gathering of world leaders and business executives in Davos, Switzerland, and expressed interest in investing in Albania, Rama said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour country\u2019s absolutely stunning, and we would like to look for a chance to invest,\u201d Rama recalled Kushner telling him.<\/p>\n

An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.<\/p>\n

The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.<\/p>\n

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\u2018This is still a planning process\u2019<\/h2>\n

Work has already begun to clear land inside a nature reserve used by migratory birds, prompting environmental groups to warn of the destruction of long-preserved habitats. Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.<\/p>\n

Rama said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started because the plan for the development has not been finalized. He said international architects and environmental specialists are still shaping the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the environment, there is no project yet, there is no environmental impact assessment yet, because this is still a planning process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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He argued that Albania has a strong conservation record, pointing to bans on hunting and logging that he said helped flamingo populations recover.<\/p>\n

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