TIRANA, July 27 /ATA/ The ambassador of Italy in Albania, Fabrizio Bucci, said on Wednesday that the negotiations between Albania and Italy on the pension agreement have come to an end.
“This is the last part of a long journey that has started many years ago. Now that we have closed the negotiations, we will be able to sign an agreement, which will make it possible for the Albanian citizens, who have returned to Albania and have paid their contributions in Italy to receive these contributions,” Bucci said at a press conference with the Minister of Finance and Economy, Delina Ibrahimaj.
But, he added, “there is another side of the coin. The number of Italian citizens moving to Albania is on increase. It is an agreement based on reciprocity. So that Italian citizens who work and pay contributions here in Albania, thanks to this agreement, will be entitled to social security benefits in Albania.”
Bucci emphasized that, “this is a very important moment, because it is another linking bridge that we are building between our two countries. Two countries that are very well integrated. We have a very large integrated Albanian community working in Italy. There are more than 700 thousand if we check out the latest data. Nearly 50,000 companies registered in Italy are owned by Albanian citizens. It is a very large number. The contribution made by Albanian citizens living in Italy and by the Italian community here is extraordinary. They pay their contributions and thanks to this agreement this gap in our system will be closed.”
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