TIRANA, Dec.13 – Albania and Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, in the context of a visit of the Italian Minister of Justice, Andrea Orlando, in Tirana.
The MoU is an expression of the countries’ will to further cooperate in the judicial field.
This cooperation’s main goal, as expressed in the memorandum signed by both Andrea Orlando and Albanian counterpart, Etilda Gjonaj, will be mutual judiciary assistance in the transnational fight against organized crime, terrorism and money laundering. Another short-term goal of the cooperation is yielding concrete results from the judicial reforms launched in Albania.
Praising the cooperation so far with neighboring Italy, Gjonaj said that assistance from and collaboration with international partners is essential because Albania has entered a vital phase of the implementation of the justice reform.
“Italy will now assist Albania during the implementation of the reform and creation of the new justice bodies,” Gjonaj said at the press conference that followed the ministers’ meeting.
Another aspect of the established cooperation will be in regards to procedures for identification and confiscation of assets owned by criminals, better synchronization between prisons when transferring convicts and even training of the prison’s staff.
Orlando, on the other hand, underlined the aspect of the MoU that will focus on Albania’s European integration and the ongoing support Italy shows not only towards Albania’s EU membership, but also towards the other Western Balkan countries. In addition, the minister voiced confidence that the results of the cooperation between the countries will be evident in less than a month.
“The memorandum provides for a cooperation policy between the judiciary systems, prosecutors, bailiffs services and all other justice institutions of both countries,” he told the media.
