The Albanian Ministry of Finance and the Italian State Bank have agreed to deepen cooperation in financing opportunities, technical assistance projects, promoting the development of small and medium enterprises, as well as supporting enterprises investing in Italy and Albania.

Albanian Finance Minister Ervin Mete met today with the Executive Director of the Italian State Bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Dario Scannapieco, the Chairman of SIMEST SpA, Pasquale Salzano, and the accompanying delegation.

Minister Mete appreciated the very good economic and trade relations between Albania and Italy, and expressed commitment to further deepening them.

The Minister emphasized that Albania offers opportunities for investment in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and tourism.

Mete expressed readiness to deepen cooperation with the Italian Government through broader involvement of the two financial institutions, CDP and SIMEST, through formal recognition as development financial institutions.

The Executive Director of CDP appreciated the progress made by Albania in the reform process and improving the business climate. He also expressed readiness to assist in establishing a financial institution in Albania, similar to the CDP model.

CDP is a commercial company with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance as its major shareholder and represents the largest financial development institution in the Italian state, while SIMEST is a financial institution owned by CDP, with the primary focus on supporting and promoting Italian enterprises abroad.