At the International Economic Summit in Tirana 2025, Jared Kushner, investor and son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, expressed his admiration for Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

In a video message broadcast during the forum, Kushner said: “Edi is a very capable, strong and smart politician. The Albanian government is doing work that leads to investment, development, tourism, job growth, and higher wages. They are doing exactly the right things,” a statement documented by the Albanian news portal BalkanWeb on May 17, 2025.

Kushner’s praise is no coincidence. The entrepreneur is currently involved in Albania himself, in particular with a planned luxury resort on the island of Sazan – formerly a military restricted area and now part of an ambitious tourism project. As Kushner explained in the video message, he was immediately impressed by the location: “It’s clear that a country that builds an airport by the sea considers it the most beautiful part of the country. The location is perfect – 60 miles from Italy, 60 miles from Corfu – and a new airport in Vlora is nearby.” The Albanian government had previously granted the project strategic investment status, which, according to BalkanWeb, brings with it special legal advantages.

A personal investment vision

It is particularly noteworthy that Kushner’s decision to invest in Albania is not only strategic but also personally motivated. “The only people I know for sure will come are myself, my wife, and our family,” he said during the event in Tirana. ‘We are designing this place the way we imagine our summer vacation. Every time I show it to our friends, they say, ’We want a place nearby too.’”

Kushner further emphasized that his investment firm, Affinity Partners, did not originally pursue real estate projects. However, Albania convinced him as an undervalued market with solid fundamentals – similar to earlier investments in SoHo, Brooklyn, and Jersey City before they became mainstream. “They all had what Albania has: the right fundamentals, but people hadn’t recognized that yet,” Kushner said.

Expansion in Europe and global ambitions

According to BalkanWeb, Kushner’s company is also pursuing broader expansion in Europe. Among the investments already made is a German company whose market value has increased significantly since Kushner’s involvement. Affinity Partners also has a stake in the global fintech platform Revolut, a company Kushner described as “perhaps the best financial technology platform ever built.”

Despite his family ties to politics, Kushner sees his investment strategy as independent of changes in government: “We are continuing as before. So far, we have invested around $2.5 billion – more than half of that in the US.” Internationally, too, the company is looking specifically for opportunities that are “often misjudged or misunderstood.”

Political engagement: The Abraham Accords

In addition to his economic interests, Kushner remains active in the diplomatic arena. As he emphasized at the summit, he is actively involved in the further development of the Abraham Accords – an alliance between Israel and several Arab states that was concluded during the term of his father-in-law Donald Trump. He is working closely with former US Treasury Secretary and investor Steven Mnuchin to consolidate existing agreements and enable new partnerships.