ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A memorandum of understanding on the management of migratory flows between Italy and Albania was signed today in Palazzo Chigi between the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama. “Albania will give Italy the opportunity to use some areas of the Albanian territory where Italy will be able to create with its own expenses to set up centers for the management of illegal migrants.”
“Initially – added Meloni -, the structures will be able to welcome up to three thousand people who will stay as much time is needed to carry out the asylum application procedures and possibly repatriation. The agreement does not concern minors, pregnant women and other vulnerable people. It could reach up to 36 thousand people. The protocol we signed today with Albania brings further collaboration on a political and legal level, which will be followed by regulatory provisions and the necessary work to prepare the structures. We plan to make the centers operational for spring 2024”.
For the Italian prime minister, this is an agreement that enriches “one historical friendship, ours is a strategic partnership that will develop through commercial relationships of absolute excellence. Italy is Albaniàs first trading partner and ours trade is worth around 20% of the Albanian GDP, but also through exchanges between our communities in Italy and Albania. There are intense cultural and social relationships. It’s a very close collaboration that already exists in the fight against illegality. Today’s agreement enriches this collaboration with a further initiative”.
For Meloni it is “an innovative solution that demonstrates that new ideas can arise from friendship and cooperation, and trust me that tomorrow I can also become an example and model to follow for other collaboration agreements of this type. I consider this to be a European-wide agreement and it shows that yes, we can collaborate 360 degrees on the management of migration and it can be done with other European nations.”
She observed “mass illegal migration is a phenomenon that the EU and its Member States cannot face it alone,” adding “from this point of view the collaboration between EU and non-EU states can be decisive. This is why we wanted to strengthen and relaunch this cooperation. Not only Albania confirms itself as a friend of Italy, but also a friendly nation of the EU. Despite Albania is not yet formally part of the EU, it acts as if it already was. That’s one of the reasons why the Albanians are proud of the fact that Italy has always been one of the largest supporters of the entry of Albania and the Western Balkans as EU member states. I don’t like to call it enlargement but reunification, I don’t think that the EU is a club and I believe that the Balkans and Albania are all European countries”, concluded Meloni.
The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama declared, “I don’t think we will ever be able to pay this debt that we have with Italy for what the institutions have done for us from the first day we arrived in Italy to find refuge, escape from hell and imagine a better life.”
If Italy calls Albania, it’s there,” Edi Rama underlined and assured that “giving a hand means helping to manage a difficult situation for Italy. The truth is that geography has become the curse of Italy because when you enter Italy you enter Europe, but when it comes to managing the migration flows, as Europeans we know very well how things go”, concluded Rama. (ITALPRESS).

– Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta had the second lowest unemployment rate among all the European Union countries, and the fourth least unemployment rate among young people during September.
Malta and Poland had the second lowest unemployment rate at 2.8%. The Czech Republic had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.7%.
On the other hand, the highest unemployment rates were registered in Spain (12%), Greece (10%) and Sweden (7.8%).
Maltàs unemployment rate of 2.8%, was 3.7% less than the euro zone average. The unemployment in the euro zone remained at 6.5%, an increase of 0.1% over last August. The rate of unemployment in the EU was 6%.
The Eurostat said that in September, 14.3% or just over 2.7 million Europeans under 25 years were seeking employment within the EU.
According to the figures, at 5.8% Germany had the lowest unemployment rate in this category, followed by Lithuania at 8.6%, the Netherlands at 8.8% and Malta at 9%. The highest rates were registered in Spain at 27.8%, followed by Sweden and Italy at 21.9%.
-foto Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta and China signed an agreement on the exporting of bluefin tuna grown in Malta. A new importation agreement was signed by Maltese Foreign Minister Ian Borg with China Vice Minister Wang Lingjun during Borg’s visit to China. In a statement, Borg said that discussions have been ongoing for a number of months and that the signing continues to strengthen the Maltese product to grow. Malta already exports tuna to Japan and even South Korea. 95% of Maltàs tuna is exported to Japan. The bluefin tuna that is caught, or farmed in our country, is one of the most sought-after products in the international markets. Between 2020 and 2023, Malta exported between 16,000 and 20,000 tonnes of tuna to various countries, including Japan, Europe and America. Foreign Minister Ian Borg said that the government aims to extend this type of agreement with other countries to continue contributing and encouraging Maltese and Gozitan businesses abroad.
(ITALPRESS).
– Photo credit Foreign Office of Malta –

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The International Organization for Migration revealed that 430 migrants, including 10 women and 20 children, were intercepted at sea, and subsequently returned to Libya. Additionally, the IOM reported the tragic discovery of one deceased migrant within the past week. Throughout the current year, the IOM has documented that 13,065 migrants have been successfully rescued, and brought back to Libyan shores. 933 more migrants have lost their lives, and 1,233 have been reported missing while navigating the perilous Central Mediterranean route, near Libya.
Comparatively, in the year 2022, the IOM recorded that 24,684 migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 529 lost their lives, and 848 were reported missing along the same treacherous route.
Following the collapse of the regime of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has transformed into a major transit hub for predominantly African migrants aspiring to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. Many migrants and refugees originate from sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing poverty, conflict, and persecution, with the hope of finding a better life in Europe.
Libyàs strategic geographic position, with its long Mediterranean coastline, makes it an attractive departure point for these desperate journeys. The European Union has faced criticism for its cooperation with Libyan authorities in intercepting and returning migrants, where they are often exposed to dire conditions. Detention centers in Libya are notorious for overcrowding, abuse, and a lack of basic necessities.
International organizations, including the IOM and UNHCR, have been vocal about the need for humane treatment of migrants and the importance of providing safe and legal pathways for migration. Despite the risks, migrants continue to embark on these perilous journeys, and the Central Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world.

foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Warm weather continued to hit Malta with the first day of November recorded the highest temperature ever registered.
The Meteorological Office confirmed that the peak temperature was of 29.1°C as stable weather conditions contributed to the record high temperature.
The unusually warm weather has led some schools to postpone the annual change to winter uniforms until later this month.
The record-breaking temperature was significantly higher than the maximum average temperature for November, which traditionally stands at 20.8°C.
“Wednesday started with a minimum temperature of 18.9°C, which is nearly 4°C above the average minimum climate norm for November,” a spokesperson for the Meteorological Office said.
The Meteorological Office said that temperatures are expected to fall to 25°C on Friday and then to 22°C on Saturday.
A mixture of sunny and partly cloudy conditions is expected over the next week, with temperatures hovering around 25°C from Sunday.
Last month was the driest October for over hundred years with farmers are struggling to battle insects and a lack of water.
-photo Agenzia Fotogramma-
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Foreign Ministry in Malta said that it is assisting the collection of donations for the civil population in Gaza, which will go to several humanitarian organisations in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the Ministry confirmed that it has doubled its annual contribution to the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), which works to assist vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said it has been following with extreme concern the daily humanitarian developments emanating from Gaza, which it said heading into a humanitarian catastrophe.
“The Ministry immediately condemned the act of terrorism perpetuated against Israel by Hamas but reiterated the importance of always distinguishing between Hamas and Palestinian civilians”, foreign minister Ian Borg said.
The ministry will now assist members of the public who wish to donate funds for Gaza, by facilitating a collection of funds that would be divided equally between UNRWA, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is also addressing the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza.
-photo Agenzia Fotogramma-
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government is being requested by the Palestinian authorities to assist in donating medicine and to send medical supplies to Gaza. The Palestinian Embassy in Malta is urging those who want to donate do so through the Embassy to ensure that the supplies go through the proper channels and end up in the hands of the Palestinian people. “As we truly appreciate your kind will and initiative to stand with our families in our beloved Gaza, we would like to inform you that donations including medical supplies, food, and medicine should be carried out only through the Embassy as we channel the donations through the international organizations,” the embassy said in a statement. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent m are the “only channels” that will deliver donations to Gaza. The Palestinian embassy also said that it would prefer to collect money and use that to purchase humanitarian supplies from Egypt in order to avoid the high resource cost that would be involved in transporting such items from Malta. “We are facilitating the donations to be sent as we prefer to purchase them from Egypt and send them to Gaza rather than collecting them here and spending money on logistics”.

– Photo: Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has confirmed that a multi-billion underground metro project is not a priority, despite a proposal that was unveiled two years ago by the government itself. The metro project with an estimate of €6.2 billion was not included in the Budget for next year presented in parliament by the Minister of Finance Clyde Caruana. Maltese Prime Minister admitted “it is not at the top of our priorities,” adding “there are still studies ongoing and it is one of the possibilities or alternatives that we are considering”. In October 2021, the government published the proposal for an underground metro that would operate through 25 stations around Malta. According to studies by London-based consultants, Arup Group, it would take 15 to 20 years to build.

(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The German NGO Sea Watch accused the Maltese authorities of ignoring calls for immediate assistance to migrants in distress. The NGO said that its monitoring aircraft Seabird spotted a distress case this week where a group of migrants onboard a boat were sheltered by the PAN MULTIARA merchant vessel from high waves for ten hours. Sea Watch remarked that the Maltese authorities neither answered the calls for assistance nor offered to rescue the migrants while the nearest rescue vessel had no permission to rescue the people in distress. Sea Watch described Malta’s non-response as “disgraceful”. Meanwhile, the Tunisian authorities are under heavy criticism as a group of migrants are feared that were taken back to Tunisia illegally. A group of 50 migrants managed to find shelter on a gas platform, while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. However, a Tunisian coast guard ship was immediately on the scene for further investigations.(ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government is planning to issue proposals for further discussions and eventually introducing new applications with the relevant competent authorities for land reclamation. This was announced by the Minister of Finance Clyde Caruana during the announcement of next year’s Budget. In the past months, the Minister explained, the government has explored a number of projects which not only ‘respect and improve the environment’, but also ‘analyse with experts the best interventions’ when it comes to land reclamation.
Malta is expected to start reclaiming land during this legislature, a move considered crucial to keep the economy growing. (ITALPRESS).

Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma

Source: medNews