Albania's PM expects GDP to grow 3.8% in 2017 - report

The Albanian government has drafted an investment and infrastructure development programme that should ensure an annual economic growth rate of 5% in the next four years, Rama said in an interview published by French daily newspaper Les Echos.

The country has put its foreign debt under control and expects a surge in investments in the energy sector on the back of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, Rama said.

Moreover, Albania has managed to cope with the issue of bad loans which were equivalent to 5% of the country's GDP four years ago, Rama added.

Albania's GDP grew by an estimated 3.94% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, official statistics indicated in July. The share of non-performing loans (NPLs) in Albania's banking system decreased to 15.6% of all loans at the end of June, the lowest level since May 2011, central bank data showed earlier this month.