On Monday, July 31, an agreement between Albania and North Macedonia officially came into effect, aiming to facilitate joint control at border crossing points between the two nations.<\/p>\n
At the Qaf\u00eb Than\u00eb border point in southeastern Albania, there will be a single checkpoint, streamlining the movement of people and goods.<\/p>\n
Both Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Macedonian counterpart Dimitar Kova\u010devski, visited the Qaf\u00eb Than\u00eb border point to introduce the \u201cOne Stop Shop\u201d initiative between their countries.<\/p>\n
The leaders hailed the benefits of improved mobility for citizens and trade, attributing the positive changes to the \u201cOpen Balkans\u201d initiative.<\/p>\n
Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kova\u010devski emphasized that Albania and North Macedonia exemplify how neighboring states should behave and expressed the vision of a borderless Balkans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative supports the operations of 11 Macedonian export companies, enhancing access to Albanian ports and tourist destinations in both nations. The \u2018Open Balkans\u2019 initiative has led to a 40% increase in trade with Albania and a 50% rise with Serbia,\u201d said Kova\u010devski.<\/p>\n
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stressed that the initiative should further progress towards enabling free movement and implementing random vehicle checks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that the Interior Ministries of both countries would advance cooperation during peak seasons and beyond, facilitating crossings without extensive controls and resorting to occasional random vehicle inspections for improved efficiency,\u201d Rama declared.<\/p>\n
Both leaders underscored the significance of the \u201cOpen Balkans\u201d initiative, which aims to eventually unify customs regulations, without having to wait for the European Union\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n
The decision to implement joint border control in Qaf\u00eb Than\u00eb was approved during a joint meeting of the two governments on November 14, 2022.<\/p>\n
This pivotal meeting witnessed the signing of 21 agreements and memorandums, solidifying cooperation between Albania and North Macedonia in various sectors, including security, tourism, trade, and electric energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Monday, July 31, an agreement between Albania and North Macedonia officially came into effect, aiming to facilitate joint control at border crossing points between the two nations. At the Qaf\u00eb Than\u00eb border point in southeastern Albania, there will be a single checkpoint, streamlining the movement of people and goods. Both Albanian Prime Minister Edi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":58070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,2877,1190,1418,150,243,151,401,298,477],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n