Since the fall of communism in Albania in 1990, Warsaw has emerged as a stalwart economic and political ally of Tirana. The diplomatic relations between Poland and Albania were established in 1937, when the Polish legation in Athens was accredited to begin the bilateral dialogue with Tirana’s King Zog I.  In the ongoing interwar period, Poland has maintained close ties with the Albanian Monarchy, meanwhile its national newspapers placed an emphasis on the avid correspondence maintained between King Wladyslaw II Jagiello (1351-1434) and Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Albania’s principal national symbol and Jagiello’s contemporary.

On December 9th, 2016, prime minister of Poland Beata Szydlo conducted an official visit to the Republic of Albania.  During her public statement Prime Minister Szydlo urged the European Union to move faster to start the membership talks with Albania, stating that “[Tirana] is an important element for security and stability in Europe and the region."

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo emphasized that: “Albania's foreign policy is in line with that of the European Union, a factor that should encourage the opening of membership talks.” Albania, as the only NATO member in the Western Balkans, “guarantees stability and security" in the region.

During this historic official visit, both governments signed bilateral cooperation agreements in cultural projects, investment agencies and inception of chambers of commerce in both countries.

The tourism industry has experienced an exponential growth under the effective, visionary leadership of Prime Minister Edi Rama; and Polish citizens have played an indispensable role in the growth of Albania’s travel enterprises and culinary tradition.  In the period of January – October 2016, Albania welcomed 74 percent more polish tourists in comparison to the same period in 2015.

During their bilateral discussions both Prime Ministers reiterated the wonderful spirit of friendship and excellent relations that exist between Warsaw and Tirana, shared the mutual commitment to deepen economic cooperation in economic areas that benefit both nations.

This emblematic visit of Polish Prime Minister to Albania was organized thanks to an official invitation extended from the Albanian Prime Minister’s office. Prime Minister Szydlo’s visit to Tirana, has stimulated and provided new hopes for a greater economic and political cooperation between Albania and Poland. Her visit to Tirana was accomplished only two years after the working visit of President of the Republic of Albania, Bujar Nishani to Poland in June 2014, when he participated in the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism.  Furthermore, in October 2014, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Albania, Mrs. Mimi Kodheli, paid an official visit to Warsaw.  

During her visit to Tirana (2016) PM Szydlo was accompanied by various Polish business leaders who participated in the first Polish-Albanian economic forum.

This Economic Forum, held in Tirana, was the platform of two bilateral agreements being signed: in the sector of economy (between AIDA - the Albanian Agency for Investment Development) and the Polish Agency; agreement between the chambers of commerce of the two countries. 

Within the dynamic bilateral political dialogue, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Polish head of Government discussed the situation in the region, the public policies’ progress made to promote further regional cooperation in an entirely new context which was created thanks to the introduction of the Berlin Process. Both countries are certainly aware, and Tirana and Warsaw share the enormous need to strengthen this cooperation in the economic setting and advancement of the countries in the region, including Albania’s economic growth, with an augmented speed of its EU integration process.

In November 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama, posted a solidarity note on Twitter, expressing his concerns to the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki about the tragic loss of two polish citizens from the rocket explosion in the village near the border with Ukraine.

Prime Minister Edi Rama stated: "Mateusz Morawiecki, Albania is seriously concerned about the news about the explosions in Poland. You have our solidarity and all our support." 

In the tourism industry, Albania has always been an attractive destination, its natural beauty is being explored progressively, every year, and the numbers are clearly indicating a growth of selected visitors and wealthy polish travelers in this part of the Mediterranean. Albanian coastline has not been widely explored before, this is what makes it ever more attractive, and certainly foreign direct capital, among them Polish real estate businesses have played a role in the expansion of economic partnership that exists between Tirana and Warsaw.

With the outbreak of war in Ukraine (February 24, 2022): Europe has experienced devastating social and economic effects. The Central European countries and Southeast Europe are threatened by cyber-attacks, hybrid threats, terrorism, disinformation, climate change or artificial intelligence, security within Europe is extremely vulnerable. European Union Officials appear to not be plucking frogs out of harm’s way, nor defending accordingly its Eastern Borders. Under these circumstances, Albania and Poland have a remarkable potential to cooperate in the areas of defense industry, intelligence collection, cyberwarfare, development of reconnaissance programs for the armed forces of both nations and strengthening the programs of training young agents in the planning and operations on how to conduct effective clandestine HUMINT collection internationally.

On July 2nd, 2024, President of the Republic of Albania Dr. Bajram Begaj conducted an official visit to Warsaw at the invitation of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. The visit initiated with a review of the guard of honor at the neoclassical Belweder palace; followed by a one-on-one meeting between the two heads of state and then a bilateral meeting with their respective teams of advisers. President Begaj stated the significance of his visit coinciding with Poland’s commemoration of its 25th anniversary of joining NATO as a full member, 20 years as a member of the European Union, and 35 years have passed since the fall of communism. President Begaj’s visit sets the stage for Tirana to cooperate more closely with Warsaw in the sectors of defense, geopolitical realignment, European security mechanism, NATO framework and protecting strategic polish investments in Albania and promotion of Tirana’s agricultural products in Poland. / ADN