The bilateral agreement between Albania and Italy for the accommodation of migrants has been reactivated after a pause of over two months.

Forty-nine migrants were boarded onto the Italian Navy ship Cassiopea to be transferred to centers in Albania, where procedures for reception, detention, and individual case assessments will begin.

Meanwhile, 53 other migrants voluntarily presented their passports to avoid transfer.

This was described by the Ministry of Defense as a “particularly significant circumstance” because “it allows for the quicker activation of procedures to verify individual statuses, even without detention, increasing the possibility of repatriating those who have no right to remain in the EU.”

According to the same sources, the migrants on board are Egyptian and Bangladeshi nationals and are expected to arrive at the Port of Shëngjin around Tuesday morning.

The ship Cassiopea departed from Lampedusa and is being used for the third transfer of asylum seekers to Albania, following two prior transfers in October and November under the Meloni-Rama agreement.