ABU DHABI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Monday during a working visit to the UAE, with the two leaders focusing on steps to deepen cooperation in the economy, trade, renewable energy and technology. The official UAE account said the meeting also underscored a shared commitment to expanding development partnerships and sustaining bilateral ties that both sides said have advanced steadily in recent years.
The talks also covered regional developments and their effect on security and stability, maritime security and the global economy. According to the official UAE account, the leaders discussed what Abu Dhabi described as Iranian attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the UAE and other countries in the region. Rama reiterated Albania’s condemnation of the attacks, saying they violated international law and norms and undermined regional security and stability.
Monday’s meeting followed several high-level contacts between the two sides this year. On March 2, Rama and Sheikh Mohamed held a phone call in which the Albanian leader expressed solidarity with the UAE amid regional military escalation. In January, during a visit linked to Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, Sheikh Mohamed awarded Rama the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian honour, in recognition of his role in strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
UAE-Albania Bilateral agenda extends beyond diplomacy
The latest meeting also fit into a broader pattern of expanding UAE-Albania engagement. In February 2025, Sheikh Mohamed and Rama met in Tirana and discussed cooperation in trade, renewable energy, food security and technology. A further meeting in the Albanian capital in July 2025 reaffirmed both sides’ intention to widen ties, with both governments continuing to frame the relationship around development, investment and practical economic cooperation.
That agenda has been backed by trade growth and project announcements. The UAE presidency said non-oil trade between the two countries rose 129.4% in 2024 from a year earlier. During the February 2025 meeting in Tirana, the two sides witnessed exchanges of documents involving Masdar and TAQA Transmission on renewable energy and transmission infrastructure, as well as a letter of engagement between Presight AI and Albania’s Ministry of Interior on a smart city project.
Regional tensions add urgency to talks
While economic cooperation remained central in Abu Dhabi, the latest discussions also reflected the effect of wider regional tensions on bilateral diplomacy. The official UAE readout said the leaders reviewed the implications of recent developments for maritime security and for the world economy, placing their meeting in a broader geopolitical context. That marked a continuation of themes raised in their March phone call, when both sides discussed the need to avoid further escalation and prevent wider instability.
The meeting in Abu Dhabi was attended by Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs, along with ministers, officials and the delegation accompanying Rama. For both governments, the visit added another formal step in a relationship that has increasingly combined diplomatic coordination with investment, energy and technology links. Monday’s talks kept that focus on concrete areas of cooperation while addressing the immediate regional backdrop. – By Content Syndication Services.