Tirana, May 12, 2026

The EIT RawMaterials Regional Innovation Center, Albania (RIC Albania), under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, organized on May 12, 2026, at Hotel Hilton Garden Inn, Tirana, the Annual Dialogue on Critical and Strategic Raw Materials in Albania, with a focus on presenting the first findings of the national Roadmap on the potential of critical and strategic raw materials, including titanium, vanadium, REE, chromium, nickel and cobalt – and on the priorities for Albania’s integration into European raw materials value chains.

This is an annual meeting that the Center organises in the framework of its mission to bring together, in a structured dialogue, representatives from all relevant stakeholder groups – public institutions, industry, academia and civil society – with the aim of fostering innovation and developing the critical raw materials sector in the country.

During the morning session, the Roadmap on the critical and strategic raw materials potential in Albania was introduced, based on a comprehensive assessment of mineral resources and opportunities for integration into European value chains, in line with the European Critical Raw Materials Act. The objective is to share key findings and priorities for critical and strategic raw materials, in particular titanium, vanadium, REE, chromium, nickel and cobalt, etc., as well as their impact on domestic industry, public policies and long term investments in Albania, with the ambition to position the country as an active part of European value chains.

The meeting was also presented the National Strategy for the Development of the Mining Sector 2026–2040, which is in its final approval stages and sets out the vision, objectives and main measures for the assessment, sustainable exploitation, processing and recycling of the country’s mineral resources.

The Dialogue will serve as a technical and professional platform to align the priorities of the Strategy with the second phase of the Roadmap, which is expected to start at the beginning of next year with financial support from the IPA III 2025–2027 programme.

The afternoon session was dedicated to economic cooperation and innovation, with a special space for businesses and institutions interested in investing in the mining sector and in innovative solutions along the value chain in Albania. This session aims to build concrete B2B and B2G cooperation bridges, identify joint projects and strengthen Polish–Albanian partnerships in the field of critical and strategic raw materials.

We greatly appreciate the participation and contribution of attendees through comments and suggestions, which will help advance the second phase of the Roadmap and the practical implementation of the Mining Strategy.