Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke this Tuesday from the premises of the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the agreement signed between the Albanian government—through ALBGAZ—Venture Global, a company active in liquefied natural gas produced in the United States, and Aktor LNG, a Greek company with experience in this sector. Rama said that the Albanian company had once been on the verge of bankruptcy and was kept afloat by subsidies.

“There was once a time in our lives when energy was simply a supply to keep the lights on for as many hours as possible in a 24-hour cycle. We live in a country where, a decade ago, half of the population paid for the other half. Our energy distribution company, until a decade ago, was on the verge of bankruptcy and was kept alive by government subsidies.

Today, the story is completely different. Energy defines our economic strength and our ambition for the place we hold in this region and in Europe. Albania has chosen to go through a painful energy reform process, and as we speak, there is no longer injustice in the system—everyone pays for what they consume,” Rama said.