wellwell :
Albania has been sold long time ago. Remember, for a while, many Albanian people were bragging that Albania was the "Singapore of the Balkans," the "Dubai of Europe," and that Tirana was becoming the next New York or Tokyo. Every new tower, luxury car, and construction project was presented as proof that Albania had already reached a world-class level of success.
Now some of the same voices are protesting major foreign-backed developments and acting shocked that outside investors have such influence. But that was always the foundation of the boom. You cannot spend years celebrating every foreign-funded skyscraper and luxury project as evidence of economic greatness, then suddenly complain when foreign investors arrive with large-scale developments of their own.
Singapore became successful through decades of industrialization, trade, exports, logistics, finance, strong institutions, and a highly productive economy. It did not become wealthy simply by building towers and luxury resorts. Construction can make a city look rich, but it does not automatically make a country rich.
The real test of economic strength is what a country produces, exports, innovates, and sustains on its own. Buildings can rise in a few years. Building an economy comparable to Singapore takes generations.
2026-06-04 21:03:57