Before departing for Tirana on Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron praised progress made in a mutual effort to stop illegal immigration from the United Kingdom and Albania.
Cameron said little vessel immigrants from Albania to the U. K. fell by over 90 % in 2023 as the two countries fought people sneaking groups, and Britain has removed nearly 6, 000 Peoples, according to a Foreign Office speech.
While in Albania, Cameron may explain the need for greater engagement across Europe on the issue of migration, including organized crime, Western Balkan safety, and both countries ´ support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, according to the statement.
The U.K. and Albania partnership” stands out as a leading example of disrupting the business models of cruel people sneaking gangs, substantially reducing harmful little boats crossings, and providing a more profitable future for youthful Albanians,” according to the statement.
Albanians are Coming to the UK Illegally to Join ‘ Criminal Underworld ‘ – Patelhttps: //t. co/TqKUoxA9BM
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) September 1, 2022
According to the statement from which Cameron was quoted,” Our partnership with Albania is providing for both our peoples and playing a crucial role in tackling illegal migration.”
According to British authorities and the Albanian local media, 45, 000 people arrived in the U.K. in speedboats in 2022 in search of higher-paying jobs than in neighboring countries like Greece or Italy. Many people end up working in cannabis-growing homes for as long as two years to recover the money they were using for trafficking.
Top British officials at the time called Albanians ´ arrivals” an invasion”, sparking a diplomatic spat. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called that a” crazy narrative” and an attempt to cover up for the U. K. ´s failed border policies. Albanians are unable to seek asylum in the United Kingdom, which considers Albania to be a safe nation.
London and Tirana reached an agreement in 2022 to return Albanians arriving on U.K. boats. London has also funded projects, particularly in northeastern Albania, where the majority of the illegal newcomers were from.
A” sophisticated” network of cameras and a fleet of drones were installed along Albania’s border with Kosovo last week to track migrants passing through the mountainous regions and track British vehicles used by criminals who want to avoid being found by the local police.
Albania, currently in negotiations to join the European Union, has been clamping down on people- smuggling gangs, although it is not a primary route for migrants.
In 2019, Albania became the first non- EU member country to have officers of the bloc´s border agency, Frontex, manage its borders in the south and east, which migrants usually cross, and fight cross- border crime.
In February, Albania´s Parliament approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy.
WATCH: Albanians Protest Potential Migrant Crackdown in London, Cover Churchill Statue with Albanian Flaghttps: //t. co/PIbqy3Sa9n
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) November 13, 2022
