Undersecretary of State Mantovano visits Shengjin and Gjader: deadlines met, centre openings confirmed

Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano visited the Albanian sites of Shengjin and Gjader today, where work is at an advanced stage to complete the two ‘centri di prima accoglienza e di trattenimento’ [‘first reception and detention centres’] for the deportation of illegal migrants, as per the memorandum of understanding signed between Italy and Albania on 6 November 2023. Undersecretary of State Mantovano was accompanied on the visit by the Italian Ambassador in Tirana, Fabrizio Bucci.

The visit provided an opportunity to confirm full compliance with the set deadlines, as announced during the previous visit to Albania by President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni on 5 June, and that the centres would therefore be operational by 1 August. After visiting the first reception centre in Shengjin and detention centre in Gjader, where he met with Italian Air Force engineers who are working non-stop, as well as with officers from the Polizia di Stato [Italian State Police], Undersecretary of State Mantovano stated: “We have been able to verify full compliance with the time schedule and the validity of this innovative model for the management of illegal migration flows, which is gaining broad consensus at EU level: 15 of the 27 EU Member States are in fact asking us to share the project, which other European nations are also paying close attention to, first and foremost Germany”.  

[Courtesy translation]