Topline
Protests in Albania against Jared Kushner’s planned resort development in the country reached their largest size yet on Wednesday, Reuters reports, amid continued environmental concerns over the construction project that are upending the country’s politics.
Protesters gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tirana, Albania, on June 10.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tirana, Albania, against the planned development on Wednesday, which Reuters described as being the largest demonstration yet against the controversial resort plan.
Kushner and his private equity firm Affinity Partners, along with wife Ivanka Trump, are in negotiations to build two resort properties in Albania, including on the uninhabited Sazan island and on the Albanian coast.
The projects have drawn widespread environmental concerns, as the construction is set to take place on protected lands home to numerous wildlife species, and the protests have been dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution” in honor of the birds in the area.
The protests against Kushner’s development have been going on since spring, when signs of construction first appeared, but have ramped up in recent weeks as the construction has garnered more attention and as videos went viral showing protesters being forcibly removed by private security, whom the Albanian government has since penalized.
The controversy is also now posing a political threat in Albania, as the European Commission has warned it could threaten Albania’s bid to join the European Union and as protesters demand the resignation of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has dug his heels in and doubled down on the development in light of the opposition.
Protesters rallied outside Rama’s office Wednesday, with Reuters reporting the demonstration stretched for half a mile down a major boulevard, as protesters have expressed they’re also opposing the PM’s tenure beyond just his handling of the Kushner project.
How Has The Government Responded?
Rama continued to defend the planned resort development in an interview with Reuters published Monday, saying, “I’m telling you, it’s going to be a beautiful project and we’re going to do it and we’re going to be proud to contribute to Europe.” The PM dismissed the protesters against him, saying he was “voted in” to “make these things happen” and not “to be led by people that have a different idea of how to develop the country.” Rama and the Albanian government have long defended the planned construction against the environmental concerns, arguing it will not pose the threat that protesters claim and that a comprehensive and transparent environmental review will be carried out. “The European Commission has no reason to doubt our firm will to protect whatever has to be protected when it comes to wildlife and nature,” Rama told Reuters in response to concerns from Brussels over the project.
Big Number
More than $6 billion. That’s how much the two Kushner resort projects could cost altogether, as the Sazan island project carries a $1.4 billion price tag and the coastal resort in Zvernec is estimated at some $4.7 billion.
What to Watch for
Kushner’s planned resort development in Albania is still in its very early stages. No final plan has yet been submitted to the government, and the openings of any resorts could be as much as 10 years away. It remains to be seen if the protests will be at all successful in impacting the plans for the development, which Kushner has previously described to The Guardian as being a “very high-end luxury product” that he wanted as “the ideal resort that I’d want to be at with my family and with my friends.” It’s also unclear how the project will impact Albania’s negotiations on joining the EU, as European officials have suggested changes to Albania’s environmental laws mean the project does not meet benchmarks that any country trying to join the EU must meet. If Albania’s EU bid moves forward, negotiations could wrap up as soon as 2027 and the country could join the bloc around 2030, Rama has previously said.
Key Background
Kushner and Ivanka Trump have said they were inspired to build in Albania after happening upon Sazan Island while aboard a friend’s yacht, with Trump saying on a recent podcast that she and Kushner were “captivated” by the island after first visiting it. She described the project to host David Senra as “the culmination of all of my experience in real estate, all of my travel, a lot of reflection on how I want to live, how I think people increasingly are wanting to live, and trying to really build something that’s a tangible manifestation of that”—attracting ridicule from critics of the president, who have described the couple’s island purchase as being out of touch. Kushner’s planned development in Albania comes as President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has increasingly used his Affinity Partners firm to work with foreign governments, sparking concerns about foreign leaders using Kushner to curry favor with Trump. The Albanian government gave the Sazan island project approval to move forward in December 2024, raising eyebrows for coming only weeks after the president’s November reelection. Kushner’s efforts to build in Albania come after another planned project in the Balkans, a Trump-branded property in Belgrade, Serbia, ultimately fell apart last year after government officials were charged with corruption in connection with approving the development. They have denied wrongdoing.
Further Reading
Why Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump’s Albanian Resort Plans Are Under Fire (Forbes)
Why Jared And Ivanka’s Island Project Could Ruin Albania’s Bid To Join EU (Forbes)