Europe > Southern Europe > Albania > Tony Blair Winds up Operations in Albania

Albania: Tony Blair Winds up Operations in Albania

2016/09/24

Tony Blair Associates, which is closing down, has completed and finished its tasks with the Albanian government, ending a period of collaboration that started in 2013.

"Tony Blair Associates has completed its project with Albania and were very pleased to have assisted the Prime Minister [Edi Rama] and his government in their efforts to deliver better prosperity for the people of Albania," Benedict Macon-Cooney, a Blair media adviser, wrote to BIRN in an email.

"As you will know, Mr Blair has often said how much the country and its people mean to him," he continued.

On Tuesday in a public announcement, the former Prime Minister and UK Labour leader Blair said he was close down his hugely criticised lobbying and consultancy operations in order to focus on non-profit and charity work.

Tony Blair Associates, founded in 2007 and at one time employing around 200 people, worked in additional than 20 different nations around the world.

Blair's work in Albania has always remained a mystery and at no time was truly revealed. The collaboration started in September 2013, the same month that Rama took over as Albanian Prime Minister.

Next conference Blair in New York and London, Rama co-directed a conference with Blair in October 2013, at the same time as he explained that the former UK Prime Minister would help the new centre-left government in Tirana to prioritize its reforms, and make them have a real impact on people's lives.

In an interview with Top Channel TV, Blair emphasized that he was keen to help governments that wanted to make real changes while focusing on his appropriate bond with Albanians as a result of the war in Kosovo.

"If you are not careful, politics remain on the level of just words and vision. So is significant to fulfill this vision, to really improve the citizens' lives through electric energy, water supplies, education, and health. These are significant things, so I help nations all around the world to make authentic this objective," Blair said in the interview.

Blair as well spoke about creating appropriate delivery units in Albania, while emphasizing that his business would not get any money from the Albanian government and would be funded with the help of world organizations working in developing nations.

However, from presently on, there was no hard data from him or from the Albanian government about these appropriate units, or about funding concrete projects.

In August this year Blair paid a private visit to Dhermi, a village in southern Albania, to see Rama. A lot of believed at the time that the consultant arrangement was still going on.

Blair's consultancy work has made him wealthy but as well highly unpopular in the UK where he is regularly attacked in the media, particularly for his work in nations such as Kazakhstan.

In 2015, Blair has added Serbia as well to the inventory of nations he is paid to advise, despite his role as the chief proponent of the bombing of Belgrade in 1999.

BIRN has reported that Blair counsels Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, once his outspoken critic, under transaction believed to be funded by United Arab Emirates. Blair and his team have made regular visits to Belgrade in 2015, Serbian government sources said.

BIRN has contacted the government in Belgrade about Blair's operation in Serbia but the prime minister's press office said it will respond in the next few days.

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