Albania has an embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, a general consulate in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and 2

honorary consulate A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

s in Essen and Stuttgart. Germany has an embassy in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. The countries are both members of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO). As a member and founder of the European Union (EU),

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

supports

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in its euro-integration path and is considered one of the strongest supporters of Albanian accession.

History

In the middle of the 18th century, Albanian stratioti were employed by Empress Maria Theresa during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

against Prussian and French troops. On 6 July 1943, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

massacred A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

107 Albanian civilians in the village of Borovë, near

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

. The victims were between four months and 80 years old. Among the dead were infants killed in their cradles. Normal relations between Albania and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

had for years been blocked by disagreement over wartime reparations, while the communist Albania had a more friendly stance on

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. On 2 December 1949 the communist government recognized

and in 1952 diplomatic relations were established. After 1961 the relations were frozen and remained so, for more than 20 years, until in 1984, the

Minister President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Franz Josef Strauss Franz Josef Strauss ( ; 6 September 1915 – 3 October 1988) was a German politician. He was the long-time chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) from 1961 until 1988, member of the federal cabinet in different positions betwee ...

visited the than isolated communist Albania. The trip reflected Albania's wish for warmer ties with Western Europe. He was the first prominent West European politician to visit Albania since World War II. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in 1986 and they have become more lively since Albania launched its democratization process in 1991.

Assistance and cooperation

Germany is the sixth largest investor in Albania in terms of exports to Albania and fifth in terms of imports. In 2007, to further develop economic relations, the German-Albanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Albania (DIHA) was founded. The biggest German direct investment is

Telekom Albania One Telecommunications (also known as One Albania) is a telecommunications company that operates in Albania, previously as Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC), and as Telekom Albania. As AMC, it was part of the COSMOTE Group from 2000, and in 20 ...

. Lufthansa and

Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its ...

operate daily direct flights from

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and the

Tirana International Airport Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

was owned by German investors until 2016. Prominent German companies have branches in the country or market their products via Albanian partners. Germany also supports and gives funds to 11 Albanian schools at which German is taught as a foreign language. Graduates in possession of the bilingual Albanian school-leaving certificate are directly entitled to study at a German university.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albania-Germany relations

Bilateral relations of Germany

History

Assistance and cooperation

See also

References