On Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed agreements and memoranda of understanding to cooperate in 16 sectors, including defense, energy, and migration management.
The agreements were signed in Rome, where the two governments held a series of bilateral events, as shown in a video posted on Rama’s Facebook page, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Other cooperation fields include healthcare, environment, education, innovation, and diaspora affairs.
In November 2023, Rama and Meloni signed a protocol under which Italy would build and operate two centers in Albania to process asylum applications from migrants rescued by Italian ships in international waters.
However, after the transfer of the first migrants was suspended by the Court of Rome over human safety infringements, the centres were converted into repatriation hubs for people whose asylum claims have already been rejected.
In January, Albania signed a strategic alliance agreement with Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the construction of a subsea electricity line linking the two neighbouring Mediterranean countries.