Speaking to journalist Rudina Xhunga on the “Flasim Shqip” podcast, Rama said Sazan was state-owned land and would remain so.

“We have set another condition: we will be partners. We have insisted on establishing a joint-stock company in which the Republic of Albania will be a shareholder, contribute the property and receive shares in the company,” Rama said.

He said negotiations over the project had been under way for years, adding that Sazan was not an asset that could simply be valued on paper but a territory requiring substantial investment.

“Sazan is a very beautiful territory, but it is also very challenging. It is a mined area, so demining is required. There is no water and no electricity on Sazan, which means investment is also needed,” Rama said.

He said previous governments had also sought to attract investors and develop Sazan as a tourism destination.

If the project goes ahead, Rama said, it could significantly raise Albania’s international profile as a tourism and investment destination.

He said interest in Sazan had increased since Jared Kushner launched the project, including inquiries about technology hubs, artificial intelligence and pharmaceuticals, which he described as a potential spillover effect.

Regarding the proposed investment in Zvërnec, Rama said there was currently no construction plan and no approved project.

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In a statement to the media from the Bektashi Headquarters, Zampolli spoke about relations between Albania and the United States, bilateral cooperation, as well as the project for the creation of a sovereign Bektashi state in the capital.

Asked about the creation of the Bektashi State, the US envoy said that he had heard the proposal from both PM Rama and Dedebaba Mondi.

He stressed that the decision is up to the Albanian people and that the international community must respect it.

“I have heard the prime minister speak, I have heard His Holiness speak. Ultimately, the people decide or will decide,” Zampolli stated, adding that if the Albanian people wants such a development, then according to him “this is a good thing.” /p.s./

Rama shared a video with extracts from the analysis of the work of each ministry during the extended meeting in Pogradec.

“I am very optimistic about our second year in office,” he said. “Our new AI tracking system will give citizens real-time visibility into government operations. Every request and complaint will be tracked automatically until it is resolved. Public feedback will no longer be like messages in bottles tossed into a vast ocean—lost and ignored. Instead, the state will be fully accountable to the people every step of the way,” said the prime minister.

During the extended meeting in Pogradec, Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari focused on the Smart City project, which he considered a major project of the Albanian government for the total transformation of the way we approach public safety in Albania.

Defense Minister Ermal Nufi spoke about the projects undertaken in the framework of the development of the military industry.

“Construction of the Guna Tactical shipyard is 75% complete and will be fully operational later this year. We currently employ 290 people in the military sector. With the opening of both the Guna Tactical and MKD shipyards, our workforce will grow to 1,000 employees by 2027,” he informed.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Petrit Malaj spoke about preparations on the draft law on Albania’s national contribution to the European Union budget.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Andis Salla spoke about the work on establishment of the first agricultural stock exchange.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports Blendi Gonxhja stated that tourism has increased by 6.48% compared to the previous year.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha said that, “We are reforming the Foreign Service with a detailed plan and our first official strategy coming this September. Most importantly, we must act and represent ourselves as an EU member state in every situation.”

Speaking about the European integration process, Minister of State and Chief Negotiator Majlinda Dhuka stated that, “Maintaining this pace means Albania should reach the draft treaty and ratification stage with the EU by 2028.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption Adea Pirdeni said that, “We have initiated a comprehensive overhaul of the Agency for Dialogue and Co-Governance (ADB) to turn it into a direct channel for measuring governance through the eyes of citizens.” /m.m/j.p/p.s./

During a press conference, Berisha said that yesterday will be remembered “as one of the darkest days in the history of law, the Constitution, and justice in this country”.

Berisha said that the institutions of the Prime Minister, the Assembly, and the President’s Office “appeared in complete impudence before the prosecutors who were enforcing the law in the halls of the Constitutional Court”.

“Never in the history of this country and in any other country has it happened that the three most important leaders have gone to the Constitutional Court against the decision of a court and a prosecutor to suspend the deputy prime minister caught in the act in a series of corrupt affairs. There is no more shameful day for that court, for these institutions, shame than yesterday,” said Berisha.

According to him, the institutions lined up to protect the thefts.

Berisha added that the members of the Constitutional Court “are capable of violating every code, every article of the Constitution and of writing the Constitution according to political orders.”

Berisha added that, “The current state in Albania fits more than anything else to a state of kakistocracy. It comes from Greek, i.e. state by the worst people. So, I call on the citizens to join forces and put them in their proper place”, he said. /m.q/a.f/p.s./

General Director of the State Police, Ilir Proda, met with Italy’s Ministry of Interior high delegation headed by Brigadier General Luigi Vinciguerra, the Head of Guardia di Finanza’s III Operations Department, Brigadier General Giampiero Ianni, Director of International Cooperation Police Service, ,Salvatore Gava, security expert at Italian Embassy in Tirana, Ferdinando Rucco from the Italian Interforce Police mission in Albania,  Commander of the Guardia di Finanza in Durrës, expert Giampiero Carrieri, and representatives from the Benecon University Consortium.

The meeting focused on ways to coordinate aerial scanning campaign of the Albanian territory for 2025 as part of joint efforts to prevent the cultivation of narcotics.

They also discussed concrete measures to enhance preventive operations and the use of state-of-the-art surveillance operations.

Albania’s State Police Chief Ilir Proda praised close cooperation with the Italian authorities, underlining that combating cannabis cultivation is a top priority.

“Aerial surveillance, police intelligence and international cooperation are key to success,” he said.

General Vinciguerra praised the commitment of the State Police and emphasized that strong partnership between the police and law enforcement agencies between the two countries has paid off.

He affirmed continued support from the Italian police and the Guardia di Finanza and readiness to provide technical resources and expertise to enhance e the effectiveness of territorial control.

The Italian delegation and the Albanian police officials then inaugurated the the laboratory for processing aerial monitoring data, which has been set up by the Guardia di Finanza on the premises of the State Police.

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At the meeting of the Parliamentary group of the Socialist Party, PM Rama emphasized that the government is leading the process to make the country ready for EU membership.

“It was a process that lasted for 14 months and involved 157 institutions”, said Rama.

The prime minister added that, “32 independent institutions are included in this list and process to ensure that the diagnosis reaches up to smallest detail”.

“The process consists of an extraordinary number of meetings; 67 such meetings have been held in Brussels; 114 such coordination meetings in the span of 14 months; 777 presentations were made by Albania at the negotiation table and 232 meetings of inter-institutional working groups”, said Rama.

The prime minister emphasized that all these figures are necessary to read the entire panorama and to understand the reason of the establishment of the special Parliamentary commission.

“On the other hand, it is what still needs to be done, so that the country meets all the conditions to be a member of the EU from a technical point of view. Then the political decision-making for membership is another matter, which we deal with and will continue to deal with at the political level. Everyone in interaction with partners; we will use all the tools that diplomacy gives us, so that both these objectives can be done together and this historical objective will be realized”, said Rama. /r.e/p.s./

Beginning from August 1, the state company “IdentiTek” offers services for the issue and renewal of identification documents.

To be provided with ID cards and passports, citizens must buy the relevant coupon at the offices of the Albanian Post.

Minister Balla also followed the same procedure; after receiving the coupon he appeared at the offices of “IdentiTek” to continue with the depositing of biometric data.

The citizens who have bought the old coupons with the logo of the former concessionaire, and who have not used them, now have the opportunity to exchange them with the new coupons of the state company “IdentiTek”, at the Albanian Post.

The Ministry of the Interior and “IdentiTek” want to assure citizens that the payments made will be valid through the procedure of exchanging old coupons with new ones. From today, the citizens will also find coupons for the service with an accelerated procedure (Fast Track) at the counters of the Albanian Post. /p.s./

During today’s meeting, the government decided to set up a joint-stock company, with 100 (one hundred) % state capital, for the production and distribution of biometric documents of Albanian citizens and/or foreign citizens with temporary or permanent residence in the Republic of Albania if in accordance with the requirements of the relevant legislation in force.

The initial capital for the creation of the joint stock company shall be 20,000,000 (twenty million) ALL. The public authority, which represents the state as the owner of 100 (one hundred) % of the shares of the joint stock company, is the Ministry of the Interior.

The joint-stock company offers in exchange for payment the production and distribution service of: electronic identity card and biometric passport; other biometric document (like residence permit for foreigners); electronic identity card for persons who have benefited from refugee status and supplementary protection; travel document for persons who have received refugee status and supplementary protection; any other biometric document issued by the Ministry of the Interior and its dependent institutions within the scope of state responsibility as well as any other service in accordance with the purpose of its creation and its statute.

The joint-stock company can provide other additional services to public and private entities, in accordance with the purpose of creation, the field of activity and its charter.

Service fees are determined by joint instruction of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Finance and Economy.

The joint-stock company is financed by its own revenues from the provision of services and other legal sources. The revenue of the joint stock company is used for the exercise of its activity.

The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance and Economy are charged with the implementation of this decision./gj.m/r.e/p.s./

According to statistics provided by the INSTAT, in the “Salary Statistics” report, the average gross monthly salary for an employee, during the third quarter of 2022, is 61,613 ALL, increasing by 9.2%, compared to the same quarter of last year.

The data show that the average gross monthly salary in the state sector increased from ALL 68,245 in the second quarter of this year to ALL 70,593 in the third quarter. If compared to the third quarter of 2021, the average salary increased by ALL 3,055.

Referring to INSTAT, financial and insurance activities have the highest salary, 119,135 ALL. According to the data, the average gross monthly salary for an employee in the financial and insurance activities sector is 93.4% higher than the national average.

However, the salary in this group of activities compared to the second quarter of the year decreased by 11,737 ALL.

Whereas, in the activity group of agriculture, forestry and fishing, the average gross salary is 33.1% lower than the national average.

Specifically, it is estimated that the average gross monthly salary in this group of activities in the third quarter of this year is ALL 41,205, when the national average is ALL 61,613.

As part of the anti-crisis package, the government increased from September of the current year salaries for the state administration, for the State Police by 7 to 15% according to the principle “who has less is supported more”./p.s./

“The United States and Albania commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of U.S.-Albania relations in 2022.  Despite interruptions to those relations over the past century, our two countries forged strong bonds, overcame conflict and hardship, and emerged as close allies and friends.  With this history in mind, we look toward the future and all that we can accomplish together over the next century.  Our two nations are rooted in a shared commitment to democratic values, peace, and economic prosperity, which are the foundation of this enduring partnership.  The themes of the 100th anniversary reflect these priorities:  Friendship, Democracy, Defense, and Business”, reads the statement.