Turkey says deals with Albania will take ties to strategic partnership

Turkey and Albania have signed agreements on several sectors that the Turkish president said will take bilateral ties to a strategic partnership level.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama following meetings in the capital Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday highlighted the historic ties between the two countries.

"[...] We just signed a joint political declaration on the establishment of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. Thus, we have raised our relations to the level of strategic partnership," Erdogan said.

The Turkish president also announced the construction of a new hospital in Albania in three months.

"We are planning to increase investments in infrastructure and tourism in Albania. We want to lift our economic cooperation to a new dimension," Erdogan added.

FETO won't be allowed to poison ties 

He said the two brotherly nations will not allow the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) to poison their relations.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 wounded.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Thanking Turkey for aid to victims of the 2019 earthquake in Albania, Rama said they too wanted to enhance ties.

The Albanian premier said he saw a "strong will" to open a new page in bilateral ties during their meeting.

Turkey helped Albania when others were closing their borders during the pandemic, Rama said.

READ MORE: Albania becomes a frontline in the proxy battle between Iran and the US

"Strong will on close cooperation"

The Albanian prime minister expressed satisfaction on the latest deal saying it will further boost ties.

"I am sure that we have taken a very important step today and when these initiatives come true, Albanians and Turks will see the positive results of this," Rama said.

He went on to say that he saw a "strong will" to open a new page in bilateral ties during their meeting.

Thanking Turkey for aid to victims of the 2019 earthquake in Albania, Rama said they too wanted to enhance ties.

Touching on Turkey's medical supplies to his country amid the pandemic, Rama said that these gestures are "meaningful".

Turkey and Albania signed a series of agreements on various fields, including health and medicine, education and economy.

On the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on construction work signed by the two countries, Turkey’s Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said that Turkey will build an electronic concrete monitoring system in Albania.

“We will cooperate with Albania in the field of building control as well, which is successfully implemented in our country,” Kurum said on Twitter.