TIRANA, Sept 14 /ATA/ – Interior Minister Taulant Balla told a Home Affairs Ministerial in the framework of the Berlin Process in Tirana on Thursday that Albania has set an excellent example in regional cooperation and effective information exchange on border management in the region.
In his address to the Ministerial that brought together 26 high-level delegations, Balla noted that Albania became a top tourist destination this year.
“Thanks to the bold reforms and the government determination, Albania was one of the countries with the highest tourism growth of over 50%. The number of visitors to the country hit a record high this year. This success is an example of the impact of the regional cooperation,” Balla said.
Interior Minister expressed gratitude to his counterparts in Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo for the eased border check procedures.
Interior Minister noted that today’s Ministerial heralds a series of events that will lead up to the Berlin Process Summit in Tirana next month.
“We need to further boost our shared commitment and cope with the transnational organized crime phenomenon, strengthen integrated border controls and reach a treaty on cyber threats to security in the Western Balkans,” he said.
“As far as migration management is concerned, the Berlin Process encourages us to apply a multifaceted approach. It requires that we eliminate different views, joint humanitarian efforts. Our collective efforts aim to strike a balance that ensures orderly and legal passage for migrants, while curtailing irregular migration patterns that pose a strain on our resources and present challenges to our societies,” he said.
According to him, this would include strategic planning, policy development in the Western Balkans and an appeal to the EU to contribute more to capacity building, digitization and border security and strengthening the migration system.
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