The IV Diaspora Summit cost around 420 thousand euros, but the invoices are kept secret

The red carpet laid at the entrance to the Palace of Congresses, patriotic speeches, and hundreds of guests from the diaspora created this year the atmosphere of an activity that the government considers strategic for Albania's connection with immigrants.

Under the motto “Through Roots We Rise”, Tirana welcomed the IV Diaspora Summit on April 13–15. For three consecutive days, 19 thematic panels were held in the capital with the participation of ministers, heads of institutions, representatives of diaspora organizations, academics, entrepreneurs and Albanian personalities from different countries of the world.

"A meeting to turn connections into action and potential into concrete results for #Albania2030," said the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, placing the summit within the framework of a strategic platform for cooperation with the diaspora.

The government promoted the event as an important national event, with a focus on strengthening economic cooperation and encouraging investments from the diaspora. In his speech, Prime Minister Edi Rama called on emigrants to return and invest in their homeland, also referring to the legal mechanism “Mountains Package”:

"I tell Albanians who have a piece of land somewhere on a mountain, somewhere on a hill, who have an abandoned house of their grandfather or great-grandfather, to take the Mountain Package and turn that land, turn that house, into a source of well-being."

According to official data, 1,121 participants registered online and 68 physically, while 139 panelists from Albania and the diaspora participated in the panels. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs describes this edition as the summit with the highest participation compared to the three previous editions.

However, as is often the case with large publicly funded activities in Albania, no detailed information on the costs of the organization was made public after the summit ended.

To learn how much was spent and how public funds were used, Faktoje addressed the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs with an official request for information.

The first request was sent one day after the conclusion of the activity (on April 14, 2026) and aimed to provide data on the costs of organization, supporting financial documentation, expenses for panelists, and the final report. 

In its response on April 27, the ministry stated that:

"The total cost of organizing the Diaspora Summit has not yet been finalized, as detailed final information is awaited, which will be calculated after collecting all the event invoices."

The request was resubmitted on May 4. But the full response was not provided within the legal deadlines, forcing a complaint to the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection. Only on June 9, after this process, did the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs respond.

According to official data, the National Diaspora Agency has paid 39,731,924 lek for logistics services, venue rental and catering, carried out by the Directorate of Government Services.

Meanwhile, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has declared additional expenses in the amount of 2,220,594 lek. In total, the declared cost of the 4th Diaspora Summit amounts to 41,952,518 lek, or about 420 thousand euros.

According to official data, 1,121 participants registered for the summit online and 68 in person, or 1,189 people in total. Based on this figure, the average cost is around 35,284 lek, or approximately 353 euros per participant.

However, this remains an indicative calculation as the institution admits that the real number of participants was higher, due to the presence of panelists, media and participants who do not appear on the official lists.

Also, the cost for the 139 invited panelists from Albania and the diaspora remains unclear. In response to the question on travel and accommodation expenses, the institutions did not provide concrete figures, explaining that these expenses were covered by the organizing institutions according to the responsibilities of each panel.

Another element that raises questions is the final report of the summit. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs says that the report has been finalized and is expected to be published, but specifies that it only addresses the organizational aspects of the event.

"The Final Report of the 4th Diaspora Summit has been finalized, reflecting the main aspects of the organization and implementation of the activity (not the financial aspects). Its publication on the MEPJ website is expected to take place in the coming days."

The first Diaspora Summit was held in 2016, the second in 2019, the third in 2023, and the fourth in April 2026. In ten years, the government has presented these activities as mechanisms for strengthening ties with the approximately 2.25 million Albanians living abroad.

However, even after four summits, there is no clear balance sheet on their concrete results, the investments generated, or the real impact on the relationship with the diaspora.

Financial transparency remains equally limited. In the case of the IV Summit, the institutions published only the total cost figure, without making available supporting documents that would enable its verification. As a result, the public knows that the summit cost around 420 thousand euros, but not exactly how this money was spent./ Faktoje.al