The government head said via the social media that with the new tourism season nearing, tour operators offering marine activities should indispensably be certified by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.

“With the new tourism season, which is nearing faster this year and is expected to be more successful than the one last year, marine tourism operators should be necessarily officially certified by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment,” Rama said.

The Premier said that the applications are open to all operators offering sailing and other marine activities for tourism purposes, starting from water motorbikes to boats, sailing ships, speed boats will be all seized and their operators will face hefty fines if lacking due certificate.

According to the government head, certifying marine tourism operators will also enhance safety of holidaymakers.

/u.sh/

Albania’s General Director of Road Transport Services Blendi Gonxhe said in a media interview today that the technical agreement for the recognition of driving licenses will be signed in early April.

“From the political viewpoint, the decision has entered into force immediately; while in the technical sense we are looking forward to the visit the German secretary of state on April 11-12 to sign the relevant technical agreement. The decision includes all categories of vehicles from cars, trucks, buses”, said Gonxhe.

According to him, until today, Albanians in Germany had to take an English or German language course and then start the course for getting the basic driving license or for other categories.

He stressed that the cost ranged from 2300 to 7500 Euros. But, thanks to this decision, these procedures and costs are eliminated.

Gonxhe also explained the procedure to be pursued so that to convert the driving licenses.

“It is enough to be a resident there, to live, for work, for school, you can automatically do the conversion in the respective offices of the General Directorate of Road Transport Services in Germany. The application is made, the Albanian driving license is submitted; we confirm that the driving license is valid and the conversion is done”, said Gonxhe.

But, this does not mean that the Albanian resident in Germany can come for a vacation in Albania, complete the driving course here and then get the recognition in the German state. As for the renovation, Albanian citizens will be subject to German rules.

“The renewal of the driving license is done according to the rules of Germany, so in this case the Albanian is treated as a German citizen,” he said.

Following ratification in the parliaments of the states, the German Bundesrat voted on February 11 to recognize the Albanian driving licenses.

With this decision, Germany follows Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, which already recognize Albanian driving licenses through bilateral agreements./j.p/r.e/p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared the news saying that this is “a meaningful confirmation of the radical transformation of the sector, from the total mishmash of 8 years ago, to a system of European standards de facto certified by German government inspection missions”.

“Good news. Finally, after passing to the parliaments of every state, the German Bundesrat voted to recognize the Albanian driving licenses, a meaningful confirmation of the radical transformation of the sector, from the total mishmash of 8 years ago, to a system of de facto certified European standards from the inspection missions of the German government “, PM Rama emphasized./p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama gave the news expressing thanks to Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio for formalizing this agreement.

“At last! Thank you Luigi Di Maio and thank you to all those who worked patiently to reach this agreement. Now, let’s move forward with the agreement on the pensions of Albanians in Italy, exemplary citizens who honor the fraternal friendship between Italy and Albania, working hard and contributing to the Italian economy for many years now,” Rama said.

During a visit to Italy on March 5, at a joint press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano, PM Rama asked the Italian authorities for a final solution for the recognition of Albanian driving licenses in Italy./k.s/p.s./