Albanians have been protesting daily against a planned luxury tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law. In this interview, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke with DW reporter Kate Laycock about the protests, AI and democracy.
00:00 Albanian PM Edi Rama talks to DW
00:35 What role will AI play in Foreign Direct Investment oversight?
01:41 A breakdown of public trust?
05:29 Privatization of public space
06:56 Luxury hotel tourism
08:42 Digital outrage
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What Edi Rama said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at the Yalta Annual Conference, dismissed concerns about a breakdown of trust in Albania, calling it a 'beautiful example of freedom' and 'democracy in action.' He refused to discuss the Trump-Kushner tourism project, saying it is 'prejudicial' to name individuals and that the project will be discussed when ready. Rama denied any privatization of public space, calling such claims 'a lie' and challenging the interviewer to provide proof. He acknowledged changes to environmental laws but insisted they do not breach European standards and will be verified through EU negotiations. Rama argued that algorithms favor 'entertaining lies' over 'boring truths' and warned that Europe's acceptance of 'freedom of reach' as an extension of freedom of speech could end democracy, as algorithms suppress truth through amplification and suffocation.
Key takeaways
Rama refused to discuss the Trump-Kushner project, calling it 'prejudicial' and saying it will be discussed when ready.
Rama denied privatization of public space, calling it 'a lie' and challenging critics to provide proof.
Rama said Albania's environmental law changes are not in breach of European standards and will be verified through EU negotiations.
Rama warned that 'freedom of reach' is not freedom of speech and could end democracy.
Rama claimed Albania welcomes 12 million tourists, attributing this to his focus on beauty.
0:00I suppose my question, that I'd like to open with, is: what role will AI play in the oversight of making sure that we know where that money is going to go?
1:18How are you going to reassure them that that is in place?
2:26If the future of Albania looks like a Trump–Kushner luxury resort, what does that say about the Albania that you are creating?
5:30Is the privatization of public space something that you are — is that a price that you are prepared to pay for this transformation?
6:56What would be your response to those concerns?
8:44Does that lead us to a situation of government control of algorithms?
Prime Minister Edi Rama, we're here at the Yalta Annual Conference and I've just heard you give a keynote speech talking about AI and democracy, power and governance. Albania has a big injection of cash expected — we're talking about 4 billion euros coming from tourism developments on the coastline. I suppose my question, that I'd like to open with, is: what role will AI play in the oversight of making sure that we know where that money is going to go?
I don't see the connection between both. But what I can say is that through artificial intelligence we can give ourselves, every day, more knowledge, and we can take advantage of having an assistance that is absolutely unimaginable in the capacities to inform us, in the capacities to advise us. So this is where it will go.
What about the question of trust? So you talked about the architecture of power. At the moment in Albania there is a breakdown in trust in that architecture. Demonstrators are talking about a lack of democratic — a lack of public consultation and oversight. How are you going to reassure them that that is in place?
In Albania there is not a breakdown of trust. In Albania there is a beautiful example of freedom, of democracy in action, of a boulevard that belongs to people from all walks of life, who have their own point and they want their voices to be heard. So this is credit to Albania, and this is not a problem for Albania.
I would love to talk to you about beauty, because as an artist you understand the importance of beauty, and you understand how the public transformation of space can change the way that a nation feels about itself. If the future of Albania looks like a Trump–Kushner luxury resort, what does that say about the Albania that you are creating?
First of all, I can be lectured about many things — about the economy, about legal affairs, about agriculture, about healthcare. But there is one thing that nobody can lecture me on, and that is beauty. And not because I'm an artist, but because I served as minister of culture, I served as mayor, and I am serving as prime minister. Exactly. Basing my whole thinking on beauty and the transformation of public space and the transformation of urban spaces has been part of my path, and if Albania today is welcoming 12 million tourists, it is thanks to that effort. So beauty is something that I believe in. It's something I fight for.
Now you bring names here because you are prejudicial. I'm not — I'm not able to answer — let me finish — I'm not able to answer because you bring names: how a project by Trump and Kushner may look like. What is this question? How can one answer it? I'm not bringing nor the one nor the other as a project. The project is being developed, and when the project will be ready, then we'll discuss the project. We will not discuss people, characters, and ideological fights with people. These are your fights; you can make them. But this is not my fight. My fight is to bring to Albania foreign direct investment. My fight is to make happen developments that will be absolutely not simply great for Albania, but will be a gift to Europe.
This is another lie that is being told intensively and has become a fact that you are now using to make a question, because there is no privatization of public space. Simple. There is not. It's a lie. You can guarantee that everybody will have...
9 more exchanges in this transcript
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Rama, E. (2026, July 3). Albanian PM Rama opens up about Kushner-linked tourism project [Interview transcript]. DW News and DW Podcasts. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958765/
MLA
Edi Rama. "Albanian PM Rama opens up about Kushner-linked tourism project." DW News and DW Podcasts, 3 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958765/.
BibTeX
@misc{rama2026_2958765,
author = {Edi Rama},
title = {Albanian PM Rama opens up about Kushner-linked tourism project},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, DW News and DW Podcasts. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jul},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/2958765/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
