Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama exchanged pointed remarks with a Greek moderator during a panel discussion in the United Arab Emirates, highlighting lingering sensitivities between the two Balkan neighbours over culture, economics and European integration.
Speaking at the event, Rama challenged what he described as a tendency among Greeks to view themselves as intellectually superior, saying Greece did not have a “monopoly on philosophy”.
“You see yourselves as the direct heirs of Plato and Aristotle, but you are not,” Rama said, according to video footage of the discussion.
Tensions rose further when the conversation turned to foreign investment in Albania. After the moderator referred to a 1 billion euro ($1.16 billion) project currently under way, Rama interrupted to dispute the figure, saying the investment exceeded that amount.
“When you talk about your own money, you add three zeroes. When you talk about the money of others, you remove three zeroes,” Rama said, drawing a sarcastic comparison to Greece’s past fiscal reporting practices during its sovereign debt crisis.
He concluded by remarking that such accounting practices were “why the European Union loves you so much,” an apparent reference to Greece’s financial crisis that erupted in 2009 and its subsequent bailout programmes.
Rama’s comments come amid periodic tensions between Tirana and Athens, particularly over Albania’s bid to join the European Union. Greece has at times raised concerns related to the rights of the Greek minority in Albania and has been involved in disputes including the case of Fredi Beleri, an ethnic Greek mayor in Albania who has faced legal proceedings.
Greece remains one of Albania’s largest foreign investors, but Rama has increasingly sought to highlight investment from outside the region, including from Gulf countries, as evidence of Albania’s broader economic appeal.
At the same panel, Rama also made ironic remarks about Montenegro, calling it “the largest and most powerful country in the region” in an apparent attempt at humour, continuing a pattern of provocative comments directed at regional counterparts at international forums.
Neither the Greek nor Montenegrin governments immediately commented on Rama’s remarks.