Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, confirmed on Friday that he is close to finalizing several major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia.
Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, is in advanced talks with the two Balkan countries for investments in tourism properties worth more than $1 billion.
Kushner, who was a senior White House official, said Bloomberg News in an interview, his Miami-based company aims to transform Albania’s largest island, Sazan, in the Mediterranean Sea, into a luxurious tourist destination.
According to Bloomberg News, Kushner’s Miami-based investment company plans to transform Sazan Island, previously used only as a military base, into a luxury eco-resort under the Aman brand. He told Bloomberg: “Sazan Island is one of the most pristine and unique coastlines I have seen in the world. »
In Albania, it also aims to build several hotels and hundreds of villas on the island of Zvërnec, a coastal area of Vlorë, in the south of Albania.
“We’re very excited. We haven’t finalized these deals yet, so they might not come to fruition, but we’re working diligently and we’re very close,” Kushner said.
Regarding its projects in Albania, the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment said Voice of America that Kushner’s company submitted an application to the Investment Development Agency “for a tourism project on Sazan Island, like many applications made by foreign investors, and the good news is that now tourism is entered sectors of interest to foreign investors, not just Albanians. But according to the law, the project must go through several stages of review before decisions are made, but so far such a project has not yet reached the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
In its explanation, the ministry said that “there have been previous interests and requests for tourism development on Sazan Island, which undoubtedly corresponds to our ambition to make the island a tourism gem Mediterranean, but we rejected them because the development objectives of the interested parties were not considered consistent with the vision of tourism respectful of the environment and nature, a necessary balance for the tourism vision of the ‘Albania for 2030.’
Regarding Zvërnec’s case, the ministry said it was not aware of any such project, adding that “any proposal and attempt to invest in Albania is welcome.” The Albanian government has made no secret of its ambition to promote and facilitate quality investments in excellent tourism and 5-star hotels meeting international standards. Any serious investor, particularly from Albania’s strategic allies such as the United States, has an open door to contribute to the qualitative growth of tourism and high standards in this vital sector for the country’s economy.”
In Serbia, it plans to transform three abandoned residential buildings in the center of the capital Belgrade into a luxury hotel, with commercial spaces and more than 1,500 residences.
Kushner’s plans in the Balkans appear to be partly a product of relationships established under Trump’s presidency.
He said he worked on those agreements with Richard Grenell, who served as U.S. special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and briefly acting director of national intelligence during Donald Trump’s term.
The New York Times said the first project in Albania and the one in Serbia involve land controlled by the respective governments, meaning it will have to finalize agreements with foreign governments.
Grenell built valuable relationships within the U.S. government, some of which appear to have paved the way for Kushner’s team’s investments in the Balkans, according to the American newspaper.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump have visited Albania twice since Trump left the White House.
They went there with Grenell and even met the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama.
Kushner served as a senior advisor to the White House, and after leaving office he founded the $3.1 billion-asset company Affinity.
His company is backed by state-backed Middle Eastern investors, including about $2 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
His company also aims to invest in renewable energy, data centers and artificial intelligence.