BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ALBANIA AND SPAIN

Spain is located in southwestern Europe. It occupies 80% of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal. Spain has an area of 505,957 km2, including its peninsula area, the territory of the Balearic Islands, the Canary Archipelago and the Spanish cities located in North Africa: Ceuta and Melilla. Madrid is the capital of Spain.

The political system is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain is part of the EU since 1 January 1986.

OVERVIEW

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Albania and the Kingdom of Spain were (re) established on September 12, 1986. Albania covers diplomatic relations with Spain thorugh its Embassy in Madrid, while Spain covers diplomatic relations with Albania thorugh its Embassy in Tirana.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

The opening of the Spanish Embassy in Tirana in 2006 marked a qualitative step in our bilateral relations, previously covered by the embassies in Belgrade and Rome. Albanian government is commited to further strengthening relation in intensifying political and economic dialogue, especially in areas of mutual interest, such as tourism, education, etc. Albania and Spain cooperate not only in the framework of the UN, EU and NATO, but also in other multilateral initiatives.

During the last years, political relations have intensified significantly. In 2015, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bushati, paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Spain at the invitation of the Spanish counterpart Mr.José Manuel García-Margallo in April. On October 4, 2021, Prime Minister Edi Rama paid an official visit to Spain at the invitation of the President of Government of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. During this visit, full support of Spain on opening negotiations talks with the EU and the holding of the First Intergovernmantal Conference was confirmed. This was the first official visit of an Albanian Prime Minister to Spain.