EU, Albania sign association agreement

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo yesterday signed, on behalf of Malta, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Albania during the European Union Foreign Ministers' Council meeting held in Luxembourg.

The agreement is intended to strengthen and extend the already established relationship of Albania with the EU.

It will contribute to the political, economic and institutional stabilisation in Albania as well as in the region, through the development of civil society and democratisation, institution building and public administration reform, regional trade integration and enhanced economic cooperation.

"This agreement paves the way for Albania to progress further in its European perspective which is so important for Albania itself and for peace, stability and economic growth in the whole of South-Eastern Europe," Dr Frendo said.

Malta's relations with Albania since 1991 have extended to a number of development programmes, such as SOS Malta's assistance to the MUSEUM's Preca College, a middle school, and the development of a management institute in Korce by the Malta Institute of Management and the Edward Debono Institute of Lateral Thinking.