TIRANA, May 13 /ATA/ – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama on Wednesday after he reaffirmed Albania’s commitment to a bilateral agreement on migrant processing centres.
The exchange came after comments by Albania’s Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha in an interview with a foreign media outlet sparked speculation over the future of the migration protocol between the two countries.
The remarks drew widespread attention in international media and prompted clarifications from Albanian officials, who said the Foreign Minister’s comments had been misunderstood.
Rama reacted to dispel doubts over the agreement, saying the deal on migrant centres in Gjader would “remain in force for as long as Italy wants it”.
In a post on social media, Meloni shared Rama’s statement and wrote: “Thank you, Edi!”
On Tuesday, PM Rama said Albania’s migration protocol with Italy was “here to stay” and rejected what he described as distorted interpretations of Hoxha’s comments.
“To all journalists from Italy and elsewhere who are reaching out regarding a distorted quote reported by a media outlet following an interview with Albania’s foreign minister: let me reiterate, clearly and hopefully once and for all, that our protocol with Italy is here to stay, for as long as Italy wishes,” Rama wrote.
/gj.m/a.f/r.e/u.sh/
