Albanian leader says Italy migrant centers built in the spirit of ‘brotherly ties’

Rome: This week, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama cemented the friendly relations between Italy and Albania, which extends to having built Italian migrant centers on Albanian soil, with a birthday gift for his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni at a meeting in Abu Dhabi.

For Albania, hosting Italian migrant centers on Albanian soil “is not a question of advantages” but one “of brotherly relations”, said Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking in a news conference on the sidelines of Sustainability Week in Abu Dhabi.

Rama was speaking ahead of a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, whom he referred to as his “sister.”

“For the moment we are taking migrants cycling with the Giro d’Italia”, he said jokingly in reference to the Italian cycling race which is due to make a few stops in Durres, Tirana and Valona this year before completing its tour of Italy.

Rama glossed over any objections within Albania that there might be to the building of the Italian operated migrant centers on Albanian soil, telling journalists there had only been a very “small amount of polemic” raised in Albania over the issue.

To the question of whether the centers work, he answered: “I think so. We will see. But they have already acted as a deterrent.” However, Rama rejected a proposal by the senator and leader of the Italia Viva political party Matteo Renzi to transform them into jails for Albanians currently detained in Italy.

To those who asked him about the costs and benefits of the operation, Rama replied that, “you can do the calculations, for your government and your country. Was it advantageous for Albania? When we are talking about brotherhood, alliances and neighborly relations like those that we have with Italy, it doesn’t always have to be advantageous. Otherwise, why are we friends, brothers, and allies? When there are difficult things, you need to do them.”

The centers have not been operating since two failed attempts to take small groups of migrants there in autumn 2024 failed, due to legal challengesm and the migrants were returned to Italy. Since then, many of the Italian officers sent there to operate the centers have been recalled to Italy. Others were reportedly enjoying sightseeing in Albania with nothing much to do within the centers.

Rama continued that he believed that the relationship between the two countries is reciprocal. “Italy, thanks to Italian governments, did things for us that did not bring it any advantages. It was not in Italy’s interest to bring humanitarian military missions when there were bad situations in Albania,” he noted.”I will never forget,”

Rama added, “when there was an earthquake and Italian firefighters were the first [to go to Albania].There were so many of them and they were well organised. They went under the rubble, risking their lives. They came for the first time to a foreign country. How can we forget these things? It is not a question of advantages but of brotherhood.”

When he met Meloni in Abu Dhabi, Rama presented her with a scarf for her 48th birthday and went down on one knee to seranade her with Tanti Auguri, Happy Birthday in Italian. He admitted to journalists that his feelings towards Italy influence his political position towards the country.

“Also, I have this problem,” he added. “I am very pro-Italy. I admit that I am not very objective when it comes to Italy.”