ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 – Croatia will donate €1 million to Albania for reconstruction of healthcare and education infrastructure following a devastating earthquake that hit the country last November.
“The Croatian government decided at its meeting on 13 February to donate one million euro for infrastructure reconstruction in the area of healthcare and education,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in his address to a donors’ conference in Brussels on Monday.
The conference was organised by the European Commission after a strong earthquake struck the Adriatic port city of Durres claiming the lives of 51 people and causing extensive property damage, estimated at €985 million.
As soon as the news of the disaster came in, Croatia dispatched 15 rescue workers and search dogs to Albania, and 1 million kuna (€135,000) worth of relief aid soon followed, the prime minister said, adding that Zagreb had also sent five engineers and civil protection specialists.
“We are here to help our friends,” Plenković said.
In his address, Plenković also mentioned the EU-Western Balkans summit due to take place in Zagreb on 6-7 May and expressed hope that before that the EU would decide on opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.
More news about relations between Croatia and Albania can be found in the Politics section.
