Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former American President Donald Trump, confirmed on Friday that he is close to finalizing several major deals for real estate in Albania and Serbia.
Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, is in advanced talks with the two Balkan countries for investments in tourist properties worth over $1 billion.
Kushner, who was a senior official in the White House, told Bloomberg News in an interview that his Miami-based firm aims to transform Albania’s largest island, Sazan, in the Mediterranean Sea, into a luxurious destination for tourists.
According to Bloomberg News, Kushner’s investment company based in Miami plans to transform the island of Sazan, previously used solely as a military base, into a luxurious eco-resort under the Aman brand. He told Bloomberg, “Sazan Island is one of the most untouched and unique coastal lines I have seen anywhere in the world.”
In Albania, he also aims to build several hotels and hundreds of villas on Zvërnec Island, a coastal area in Vlorë, in the south of Albania.
“We are very excited. We have not yet finalized these agreements, so they may not happen, but we are working diligently and we are very close,” Kushner said.
Regarding his projects in Albania, the Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment told Voice of America that Kushner’s company has submitted an application to the Investment Development Agency “for a tourist project on Sazan Island, like many applications made by foreign investors, and the good news is that now tourism has entered the sectors of interest for foreign investors, not only Albanians. But according to the law, the project must go through several review stages 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 expressed that “there have been previous interests and requests for tourist development on Sazan Island, which undoubtedly aligns with our ambition to turn the island into a jewel of Mediterranean tourism, but we have rejected them because the development objectives of the interested parties were not considered in line with the vision of environmentally friendly tourism and nature, a necessary balance for Albania’s tourism vision for 2030.”
Regarding the Zvërnec case, the ministry said it was unaware of such a project, adding that “any proposal and attempt to invest in Albania is welcome. The Albanian government has not hidden its ambition to promote and facilitate quality investments in excellence tourism and 5-star hotels with international standards. Any serious investor coming, especially from strategic ally countries of Albania 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, he plans to convert three abandoned residential blocks in the center of the capital Belgrade into a luxury hotel, with commercial space and over 1,500 residences.
Kushner’s plans in the Balkans seem to have been partly through relationships established during Trump’s presidency.
He said he worked on these agreements with Richard Grenell, who served as the United States Special Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue and briefly as Acting Director of National Intelligence during Donald Trump’s tenure.
The New York Times reported that the first project in Albania and the one in Serbia involve land controlled by the respective governments, which means he will need to finalize the agreements with foreign governments.
Grenell created valuable connections while in the American government, including some that appear to have paved the way for Kushner’s team’s investments in the Balkans, according to the American newspaper.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump visited Albania twice since Trump left the White House.
They traveled there together with Grenell and even met with Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama.
Kushner served as a senior advisor in the White House, and after leaving office, he founded the Affinity firm, which has assets worth $3.1 billion.
His firm is backed by Middle Eastern investors enjoying state support, including about $2 billion from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
His company also aims to invest in renewable energy, data centers, and artificial intelligence.
