Kosovo-Albania agreement on easing border control, reciprocal representation

TIRANA, May 1 – Albanian and Kosovan Interior Ministers Bujar Nishani and Bajram Rexhepi respectively signed an agreement to ease border control between the two countries.
That is Kosovo’s first document about free border crossing with a country that has recognized its independence.
Nishani said that the procedure would be the same as that applied from the Schengen area member countries. Rexhepi said that the agreement enables the citizens of Albania and Kosovo to cross the border without any control.
The deal covers three border crossing points between the two countries.
Both ministers also highly evaluated cooperation between their two ministries on the fight against organized crime, illegal trafficking and border control.
In another move in the ties between the two neighboring countries Kosovo’s Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs held last week a meeting headed from Albin Kurti to discuss on starting an agreement between Kosovo and Albania for reciprocal representation.
“This agreement for reciprocal representation, in these conditions, from the viewpoint of Kosovo, is advantageous given that Albania can represent us in at least seven states where we do not have missions”, said Kurti.
The Commission unanimously agreed to recommend to the Foreign Ministry to include that proposal in its working program and strategy and offer that to the Albanian counterparts.