YUGOSLAV ECONOMIC AID TO ALBANIA 1945 – 1948: OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND OUTCOME

Abstract

The study focuses on the phenomenon of Yugoslav economic aid to Albania following WWII. The Yugoslav communist leadership’s idea to unite Yugoslavia and Albania into a single state began to be implemented in the field of economy, with the transfer of industrial machines and products from Yugoslavia to Albania and the establishment of a common economic and customs space between the two countries. Around 700 Yugoslav experts and workers were sent to Albania to help implement the country’s first five-year economic plan, which had previously been agreed upon with the Yugoslav five-year plan. Over 1000 Albanian students and youth received professional training at Yugoslav faculties, secondary vocational schools, and industries. In 1948, the ambitious project came to an end with the abolition of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the expulsion of Yugoslav citizens from Albania.