Investment in Sazan Island/ Is there an attempt to seek favors from the new US government? Rama does not respond to the New York Times

The Albanian government has given preliminary approval to a plan proposed by Jared Kushner, Donald J. Trump's son-in-law, to build a $1.4 billion luxury hotel complex on a small abandoned military base off the coast of Albania.

The project directly involves foreign government entities, writes the American media New York Times. 

The approval from Albania's Strategic Investment Committee, which is headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, gives Mr. Kushner and his business partners the right to proceed with accelerated negotiations for the construction of the luxury resort on a 111-hectare section of the Sazan Island area.

Mr. Kushner and the Albanian government did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. But when asked about the project earlier, both have said the assessment is not being influenced by Mr. Kushner’s ties to Mr. Trump or any efforts to solicit favors from the U.S. government.

“The fact that such a well-known American entrepreneur shows his interest in investing in Albania makes us very proud and happy,” a spokesman for Mr. Rama said last year in a statement to the New York Times, when asked about the projects.

Mr. Kushner’s Affinity Partners, a private equity firm backed by about $4.6 billion in cash, mostly from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, is pursuing the Albania project along with Asher Abehsera, a real estate executive who Mr. Kushner teamed up with to build projects in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Albanian government, according to an official document recently published online, will now work with its American partners to clear the proposed hotel site of any potential buried munitions and to review any other environmental or legal concerns that need to be resolved before the project can move forward.

The document, dated December 30, notes that the government "has the right to revoke the decision," depending on the final negotiations of the project.

Mr Kushner's firm has said the plan is to build a five-star "eco-resort community" on the island by turning a "former military base into a vibrant international destination for hospitality and wellness".

Ivanka Trump, Mr. Trump's daughter, has said she is helping with the project. "We're going to implement it," she said of the project during a podcast last year.

This project is just one of two major real estate deals that Mr. Kushner is pursuing alongside Mr. Abehsera that involve foreign governments.

Separately, the partnership received preliminary approval last year to build a luxury hotel complex in Belgrade, Serbia, in the former defense ministry building, which has remained empty for decades after being bombed by NATO in 1999 during a war there.

Serbia and Albania have pending foreign policy issues with the United States, as both countries seek continued U.S. support for their long-stalled efforts to join the European Union, and officials in Washington are trying to persuade Serbia to strengthen ties with the United States and Russia.