Overview
- Reporting links a proposed luxury tourism development worth more than €1 billion to Jared Kushner, who is married to President Donald Trump's daughter, and plans have included hotels on the Vjosa‑Narta coast and redevelopment of the uninhabited Sazan island.
- Large street protests have run for nearly a week, with clashes between demonstrators, police and private guards and the police director in the Vlora region resigning after unrest.
- Environmental groups say the Narta lagoon is a protected, biodiverse area that could be harmed by construction and activists warn the public plans shown would add roughly 10,000 hotel rooms and effectively build a new city on the coast.
- Rama, speaking at the EU‑Western Balkans summit, said on Friday that no permit has been granted, key project details, ownership and financing remain undisclosed, and that experts are involved in planning.
- The dispute raises conflict‑of‑interest and reputational questions because of the Kushner link and could affect Albania's tourism strategy, EU candidacy optics and local livelihoods if formal approvals and environmental reviews proceed.