In early June, Albania and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agriculture, food security, and innovation, the latest step in what analysts describe as an increasingly strategic partnership between the two countries.
The agreement, which aims to modernise Albania’s farming sector through technological cooperation and scientific exchange, comes at a time when both governments are navigating political challenges at home and abroad.
Israel continues to face growing international criticism over its war on Gaza and mounting scrutiny from Western allies, while Albania is seeking to accelerate its long-standing bid for European Union (EU) membership amid corruption allegations and criticism directed at Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government.
Yet the significance of the agreement extends beyond agriculture. In Albania, growing ties with Israel have unfolded alongside broader efforts to attract foreign investment and strengthen relations with key Western partners.
And those efforts have increasingly come under public scrutiny. At the heart of the debate is a proposed luxury tourism resort on the island of Sazan, backed by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
In recent weeks, protests have erupted across the country in opposition to what many Albanians see as a pattern in which strategic assets and public resources are opened to politically connected foreign investors.
Against that backdrop, the latest agreement with Israel raises broader questions about the trajectory of relations between the two countries, while also highlighting a strategic alignment that has been quietly taking shape for years.
Albania and Israel’s deepening ties
While the agricultural memorandum has attracted attention, it represents only the latest development in a relationship that has steadily expanded across multiple sectors.
“The two countries already cooperate in areas including defence, cybersecurity, tourism, health, investment, and economic development,” Dimitris Dalakoglou, Professor of Social Anthropology and Sociology of Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, explained to The New Arab.
“Recent defence and security agreements suggest that relations have moved well beyond purely economic exchanges.”
Albania, home to a sizable Muslim population, recognised Israel in 1949 and went on to establish full diplomatic relations several decades later in 1991.
In 1998, Albania opened its embassy in Tel Aviv, while Israel inaugurated its embassy in Tirana in 2012, and several state visits have taken place since.
In 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “lauded” Albania for being the only Nazi-occupied country in Europe to emerge with a higher Jewish population than it had before World War II.
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in 2023, Albania has also vocally aligned with Israel diplomatically, choosing to abstain from condemnatory UN resolutions. Premier Edi Rama has continued to express strong solidarity with Israel during the war and addressed the Knesset in January, where he praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Dalakoglou, the new MoU should be understood as “part of a broader trajectory” of deepening Albania–Israel relations, “consolidating an existing strategic partnership rather than creating a completely new one”.
In 2023, months before the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, Albania and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding on military and defence cooperation.
The pact was described as “the first” of its kind between the two and intended to “create a framework for joint military, defence, and industrial cooperation, including monitoring frameworks for developing new defence capabilities”.
In the same year, a cybersecurity agreement was also penned.
In 2025, a major deal was signed to supply Albania with artillery systems and drones by Elbit Systems and to build a domestic production plant in the country. Elbit Systems has been the target of pro-Palestinian protests over the years due to its role in producing equipment for the Israeli military.
The June agreement is best understood as an extension of this evolving bilateral relationship, one also driven by deeper strategic and foreign policy objectives.
Albania’s Western calculus
For some analysts, Albania’s growing cooperation with Israel reflects broader foreign policy calculations.
Azerbaijan-based analyst and journalist Rovshan Mammadli described Tirana’s outreach to Israel as a “demonstration of loyalty” to the US, Israel’s number one ally.
As Albania seeks to strengthen its position within Western political structures and attract foreign investment, close ties with Washington and its partners carry both political and economic value.
Although cooperation with Israel is not a prerequisite for EU membership, it reinforces Albania’s image as a reliable pro-Western actor at a time of growing geopolitical competition.
Mammadli argues that the Rama government appears increasingly focused on maintaining that reputation.
“Rama appears more concerned with preserving its reputation as a reliable pro-Western and pro-American partner than public opinion,” he told The New Arab.
‘Flamingo Revolution’
Not all Albanians share the government’s enthusiasm for this approach.
According to Dalakoglou, public criticism is driven less by Israel itself than by what such agreements represent.
The government frequently presents foreign partnerships and investment projects as “evidence of modernisation, international integration and economic opportunity,” according to Dalakoglou. But critics view them through a different lens.
“[Public criticism is triggered] by ‘a broader model of development that many citizens believe privileges foreign capital and political elites over local communities and environmental concerns,” he told The New Arab.
Such concerns have coalesced around the Kushner-linked development project, which many Albanians see as part of a pattern whereby public resources, the coastline, and other strategic assets are increasingly opened to global investors.
Dubbed the ‘Flamingo Revolution, for two weeks, protestors have taken to the streets to voice their anger at Rama’s approval of the project, which would be built on the demilitarised island of Sazan, home to diverse fauna, particularly migratory birds.
What Israel wants from Albania
The growing relationship also offers important advantages for Israel.
As international criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza intensifies and diplomatic tensions have emerged with some traditional partners, cultivating relationships with countries beyond its core allies has taken on greater importance.
In that context, Albania occupies a unique position. It is a predominantly Muslim country, a NATO member, a candidate for EU membership, and one of the most pro-Western states in the Balkans.
“Visible cooperation with Albania allows Israel to demonstrate that it continues to build partnerships beyond its traditional allies,” Dalakoglou explained.
“Given Albania’s unique position as both a Muslim-majority society and a strongly pro-Western state, such relationships carry particular diplomatic value.”
Some observers have compared this dynamic to Israel’s efforts to deepen ties with countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco following the Abraham Accords.
While Albania’s relationship with Israel predates those agreements by decades, it nevertheless offers symbolic and diplomatic benefits at a time when Israel is seeking to counter perceptions of international isolation.
Yet symbolism alone does not explain the relationship. For Mammadli, Albania-Israel relations “lie less” in symbolism but instead rest on practical cooperation, strategic interests, and political alignment.
The road to Brussels?
Albania, like many countries in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus, has been vying for membership in the European Union for almost two decades. Tirana applied for membership in 2009 and has been an official candidate for accession since 2014.
Amid delays linked to a Bulgarian veto and the fact that Albania’s accession to the EU is tied with that of North Macedonia, joining the European bloc has gained rapid momentum in recent years, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying the country could join as early as 2027, despite an initial deadline set for 2030.
As Albania rushes to seek further EU approval for its accession to the bloc, Tirana may feel compelled to present itself as a reliable Western partner and an attractive destination for international investment, despite the fact that no agreements with Israel are needed for its European ambitions.
“Whether that helps depends on how such projects are perceived in terms of transparency, governance, environmental impact, and democratic accountability,” Dalakoglou explained to TNA.
Long plagued by corruption concerns, the billion-dollar Kushner project may instead provide a new challenge to Albania’s EU bid.
The European Commission, for example, has urged Tirana to “act without delay” to ensure it is aligned with EU environmental legislation if it wants to join the EU, amid concerns over the luxury resort’s environmental impact.
“While Albanian policymakers may see value in demonstrating they’re closely aligned with US strategic preferences by embracing Israel and Kushner, this cannot substitute for progress” in areas such as EU accession ambitions, Mammadli warned.
Sofia Aboudari is a journalist at The New Arab
Edited by Charlie Hoyle
