A delegation from the Italian customs and monopolies agency, led by the director of Adm’s international relations office, Andrea Mazzella, Ambassador of Italy to Kosovo, Antonello De Riu, and by lieutenant colonel, the Guardia di Finanza’s expert for Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, Giampiero Carrieri, met yesterday in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, with the Kosovo customs director, Agron Llugaliu.
At the centre of the talks was the strengthening of current customs cooperation for a more incisive fight against illicit trafficking, but also the most effective ways to carry out controls without affecting profitable trade, which, in the period January-October 2023, recorded a 7.3% increase on the previous year.
The commitment of Adm and the Guardia di Finanza in Kosovo will also translate into administrative assistance and training activities for Kosovan customs officials, through specific on-the-job training experiences. Italian support to Kosovan customs aims at fostering regional economic integration in the Western Balkans on the basis of the Cefta (Central European Free Trade Agreement) through the implementation of a system for the electronic exchange of trade documents.
The meeting took place just a few weeks after the Albanian customs director’s visit to Rome, confirming Adm’s commitment to an area, the Western Balkans, of primary importance for Italy’s economic and strategic interests.
