[3] In the middle of the 18th century, Albanian stratioti were employed by Empress Maria Theresa during the War of the Austrian Succession against Prussian and French troops.

After 1961 the relations were frozen and remained so, for more than 20 years, until in 1984, the Minister President of Bavaria Franz Josef Strauss visited the then-isolated communist Albania.

An important event after the start of diplomatic relations was the six-hour visit of the German Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time, Hans Dietrich Genscher, to Tirana on 23 October 1987.

In March 1997 the German military launched an evacuation mission named Operation Libelle after civil unrest broke out in Albania in response to the collapse of various fraudulent pyramid schemes.

In 2014, German Chancellor Angela Merkel initiated the Berlin Process to address geopolitical challenges, including concerns over conflict in the Western Balkans.

While some questioned whether the Berlin Process was meant to replace or complement EU enlargement, Merkel's focus remained on maintaining peace in the region and advancing Albania's integration into the European Union.

[17] Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel played a key role in shaping EU enlargement discussions for Albania and the Western Balkan countries.

[18] Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described Albania as a "friendly country and an important partner" of the EU, during a high-level visit to Tirana in 2022.

[19] On 1 October 2024, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the Berlin Process, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted in Berlin the 10th Western Balkans Summit, which she called as the Conference on Europe and a historic opportunity for a shared future in the European Union, reiterating once again Germany's support for the further enlargement of the European Union with Albania and the rest of the Western Balkan countries.

[22] Germany is the country's largest bilateral donor and has committed more than 1.2 billion euros since cooperation began, mainly in the form of reduced-interest loans.