Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar signed a broad cooperation agreement with Albania on Monday and praised Prime Minister Edi Rama as one of the most prominent leaders in the world.
The Agreement on General Cooperation, signed with Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha, creates an intergovernmental framework for joint projects in 10 areas, including trade, technology, agriculture, water management, energy, health, security and tourism, according to Albania's Foreign Ministry.
Its text has not been released, and officials did not say how it would be implemented or funded, or whether Parliament must ratify it.
Hoxha called the visit, only the third by an Israeli foreign minister, the high point of bilateral relations and cited growing Israeli investor interest in infrastructure, agribusiness, energy and health care.
Sa'ar, who called Albania "a true friend of Israel," said Israeli visitors now number about 100,000 a year and that investment in energy, water, defense and innovation should follow.
He also met Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi before talks with Rama that lasted nearly two hours.
Praise for Rama
Sa'ar told reporters that Rama was among the world's most extraordinary leaders, with a moral compass whose value extends beyond the Balkans.
On X, he wrote that Rama, who "has led Albania continuously for 13 years," is "one of the most prominent and valued leaders in the world today" and "a steadfast friend of Israel."
The praise came in the middle of Sa'ar's election campaign at home; Israel votes on October, 27th.
Security, Iran and memory
Hoxha called Israel's security a precondition for lasting peace in the Middle East, while acknowledging Israeli and Palestinian suffering since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023.
He credited Israel with helping rebuild Albania's cyberdefenses after the 2022 attacks Tirana blames on Iran. Albania cut ties with Tehran that year, and in March its Parliament declared Iran a state sponsor of terrorism in a vote the opposition boycotted.
Hoxha also cast Israel's recognition of Kosovo as a contribution to stability in the Balkans.
Hoxha also said Albania was advancing two museums, a Museum of Besa in Tirana and a Jewish Museum in Vlora, as centers of education and culture. Both commemorate the sheltering of Jews by Muslim and Christian Albanians during World War II, rooted in besa, a traditional code of honor built on keeping one's word.
Sa'ar was shown an archival exhibition on the rescue, including documents that Hoxha said had been unknown to the public until recently.
Rama first announced the Besa Museum in Jerusalem in early 2023. It is to occupy the historic Toptani family house in central Tirana, and its design competition was funded by the Israeli philanthropist Alexander Machkevitch. Three years on, it has not opened, and no timeline was given for either museum.
A fast-deepening relationship
The visit caps two years of intense contact, built on earlier groundwork: in 2023 the two countries signed defense and cybersecurity agreements, and in June they added an accord to modernize Albanian agriculture.
In September 2024, Isaac Herzog became the first Israeli president to visit Albania, which announced plans for a commercial liaison office in Jerusalem.
In March 2025, the two health ministers signed a memorandum on digital health, emergency preparedness and medical research, building on Albania's existing partnership with Israel's Sheba Medical Center.
That April, Herzog awarded Rama Israel's highest civilian decoration, the Presidential Medal of Honor, for his support after Oct. 7. Rama dedicated it to the Albanians who sheltered Jews, noting that Albania ended the war with more Jews than it had at the start.
In October 2025, then-Foreign Minister Elisa Spiropali signed a cooperation agreement with Sa'ar in Jerusalem, where he projected 77,000 Israeli tourists in Albania that year.
In January, Rama addressed a special Knesset session in his honor. A month later, at the first meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, he committed Albanian troops to the international stabilization force in Gaza; in May, Parliament authorized up to 40 personnel for the mission.
In 2025, KAYO, Albania's state defence company, and Israel's Elbit Systems also announced plans for an aviation academy in Vlora to train military and civilian pilots.
Not without criticism
Rama's stance has drawn criticism over Gaza. Albanian analysts quoted by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency called his Knesset speech, in which he described Hamas as the sole "jailer" of Gaza, one-sided, noting that Albania has generally sided with Israel or abstained in U.N. votes during the war.
Rama has, however, rejected reports that Albania would take in displaced Gazans.
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