Justice Minister hailed the extradition treaty as another milestone in the bilateral relations that is signed after 87 years.

“I believe it is a success, not only that we managed to finalize it, but also its signing in itself and the replacement of the old treaty is a success for the judicial and jurisdictional relations between Albania and the United States,” she said.

Gjonaj said that the new treaty provides for the widening and update of the criminal offences for which suspected criminals or those sentenced for crimes can be extradited, including a number of offences that were not part of the old agreement signed between the two countries 87 years ago in 1933, with the new categories including crimes in the areas of finance, tax and customs, corruption, environment, informatics, and all crimes for which laws stipulate a sentence of over one year in prison, excluding crimes of political character.

According to Justice Minister, the treaty marks a step forward in the fight against crime as it provides new tools for a more efficient fight against the new forms of crime in both countries.

The Minister noted that “the political and technical support of the United States is best expressed by assistance in designing a series of important reforms we have undertaken.”

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