TIRANA, March 16 /ATA/ – Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), harmonized with EUROSTAT data, show that the number of Albanian emigrants leaving the country has significantly fallen, Prime Minister Edi Rama said in his remarks at an international conference on challenges of immigration in Tirana on Friday.
The government head said that the latest census show that number of Albanian nationals moving abroad in 2017 has dropped, down 20 percent on 2013, or 9500 persons fewer, and down 30 percent compared to 2011, or 15 thousand people fewer.
In addition to joint steps in cooperation with European partners designed to curb the Albanian asylum seekers in 2016-2017, Rama said his government will offer housing for young couples in a bid to motivate them to stay in the country.
According to Rama, young couples will be beneficiaries from this government’s reform since the lack of housing is one of factors providing the main motivation behind migration.
“We are working on a new housing program for young couples. We believe that by offering housing opportunity, we will discourage young people from leaving the country. It is a national measure that has been successfully launched by other countries. Once a draft of the program is ready, we will further consult with our main partners,” Rama said.
The Premier noted that Albania experienced a massive outflow of its citizens after the’90s and more than one million citizens left their homeland in search of a better living abroad.
“Emigration in search of a better living still remains one of the main reasons albeit structure is no longer the same. If we would try to define a common denominator, employment is undoubtedly the main reason of individuals to emigrate abroad. Around 84 percent of emigrants say they left country in search of a job abroad,” he said.
PM Rama said that government is considering a series of programs to support and ensure reintegration of Albanian people who move back to live in Albania
“The number of citizens returning to Albania is growing and the gap between the number of those leaving and returning to the country between 2010 and 2017 is narrowing. We should be able to provide adequate answers in order to ensure reintegration of those returning home,” the Premier said.
The government head also noted that the money Albanians working abroad sent home to support their families keeps on falling to only €619 over the past five years.
“While remittances were the main source of Albania’s growth in the ‘90s this is no longer the case. Only €619 million have been injected from the emigration over the past five years. This figure is not enough to be considered a sustainable source of economic growth. We are seeking to develop programs in order to create employment and investment opportunities for emigrants who return home,” he added.
PM Rama noted that more than 3 000 Albanian citizens were employed in Germany through training and qualification programs in 2017.
Commenting on the asylum seeking phenomenon, the government head underlined that, lacking access to the free labour market, Albanian citizens were included in the wave of asylum seekers from the conflict-ridden Middle East region, triggering a lot of rumour and speculation.
“Without any intention to justify this phenomenon, since we are aware we should have moved to curb it, the fact is that the number of asylum seekers from Albania has fallen thanks to the government measures,” he said.
The latest report on asylum seekers released on March 1 shows that Albania is no longer among the six countries with the highest asylum applications.
According to him, the government measures, coupled with creation of opportunities for legal employment, have reduced the number of asylum seekers.
“Some 3000 Albanians have been employed in Germany through training and qualification projects. This is the only way and we will work closely with Germany and other countries to stimulate this path towards free movement in the labor market,” he said.
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