
The agreement signed between Albania and Kosovo on July 5, 2023 in Tirana and aimed at easing customs procedures for the inspection of products of non-animal origin has been published in the official notebook. It was approved at the last meeting of the Albanian government on August 30.
The agreement, which has a duration of five years and can be repeated, aims to promote trade, remove barriers and facilitate control procedures, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania and the government of the Republic of Kosovo, with the aim of strengthening and the extension of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the development of cooperation in the field of agriculture.
According to the agreement, "the parties agree that the import, transit and export control of food products of non-animal origin can be carried out at the Border Inspection Point or at the nearest customs of the destination country, according to the subject's request.
The authorities responsible for food safety of each party shall allow import and export, accompanied by recognized certificates or analysis reports or other suitable document, issued according to the legislation of each party, which guarantees food safety".
Also, according to the agreement, "the competent authorities of each party will notify each other about risk-based control plans and regulatory acts that are adopted in the field of food safety. And, the controls of the loads of food of non-animal origin, during import and export, will be carried out based on risk analysis".
For the implementation of this agreement, the respective institutions of Agriculture, in order to develop cooperation in the field of food safety, will exchange professional publications and organize joint trainings.
The agreement also provides for the possibility of having a dispute.
But this will be taken care of by the representatives of the competent authorities, the Ministry of Agriculture of Albania and that of Kosovo.
At the end of the agreement, it is specified that the duration of this agreement is for 5 years, from the moment of its signing.
And it is noted that this agreement will be automatically extended for another period of 5 years, unless one of the Parties requests its termination in writing through diplomatic channels, at least 3 months before the end of the relevant period of validity.
This Agreement may be amended by mutual written consent of the Parties at any time.
The agreement was approved at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 30, 2023. This agreement is another agreement in the multitude of agreements between the two countries to further strengthen economic cooperation.
According to the figures, trade exchanges between the two countries during the 7th month of this year are calculated at over 30 billion ALL. Specifically, exports to Kosovo during the January-July period were 23.7 billion ALL. Imports for the 7-month period amounted to ALL 6.4 billion.
Meanwhile, working groups from both countries are working on conducting an analysis for the customs union, so that all barriers and bureaucracies between the two countries are removed and that trade cooperation has no obstacles.