Albania’s Foreign Minister Elisa Spiropali said Wednesday that the planned Corridor VIII transport route represents a strategic gateway for trade and investment across Southeast Europe, highlighting its role in strengthening regional connectivity and economic security.
Speaking at the Tirana Economic Forum following a ministerial meeting dedicated to the project, Spiropali said transport corridors were not merely infrastructure works but “lines along which economies, energy, influence and security move.”
She described Corridor VIII as a project of strategic importance linking the Adriatic and the Black Sea through a horizontal axis that connects NATO members and countries aspiring to join the European Union, enhancing both regional mobility and resilience.
Officials at the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to mobilising financing through European instruments, international financial institutions and partnerships, framing the corridor as a pillar of the region’s strategic autonomy and economic sustainability.
“In a time when supply chains are directly tied to national security, transport infrastructure—roads, ports and railways—defines the level of economic integration with Europe and resilience to crises,” Spiropali said, inviting investors to engage early in what she called a transformative project backed politically by governments in the region, the European Union and NATO partners.
For Albania, she added, the corridor represents an opportunity to position the country as a natural Adriatic gateway along the east–west axis, with investments in ports, road networks and railways forming part of a broader European connectivity map.
Separately, Kaltrina Zekolli, deputy transport minister of North Macedonia, said the project would serve as an “artery” for regional economic development, boosting cooperation and attracting both regional and international investors.
Zekolli noted that construction work was advancing on multiple road segments in North Macedonia, while a new rail connection with neighbouring Bulgaria—including a planned cross-border tunnel—had been formalised through an intergovernmental agreement approved by parliament.
She added that national infrastructure development was being aligned with European transport standards, stressing that the corridor was not just about building roads and railways but integrating the region into wider continental networks.
Corridor VIII has long been promoted as a key trans-Balkan route intended to improve links between the Adriatic and Black Sea basins, reduce transport times and deepen economic integration in a region seeking closer ties with European markets.