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| Rama meeting Meloni and Sunak (archive) |
Leaders of Britain, Italy, and Albania are set to meet in Rome this weekend to discuss how to tackle illegal immigration. AFP reports that the news was announced by Downing Street, emphasizing that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, and the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, will meet on Saturday with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, at her official residence, locam media in UK reports.
Sunak's office stated that the meeting will focus on joint efforts to address illegal immigration and organized crime. The relationship between the British Conservative leader and Meloni has flourished over the past year. Both Prime Ministers have pledged to address the high number of arrivals on their shores, writing a joint letter in October, calling for tougher actions from EU leaders against illegal migration.
Both have reached agreements with Albania in an attempt to address the issue. According to the UK agreement, signed a year ago, Albanians arriving in the UK with small boats across the Channel can be immediately returned. Sunak has praised the agreement for helping reduce boat arrivals by a third this year, although almost 30,000 people have still made the perilous journey. The British Prime Minister is also trying to push through controversial plans in the UK parliament to send all such arrivals to Rwanda.
Last month, Meloni and Rama announced an agreement to build two Italian immigrant centers in Albanian territory. They will host asylum seekers rescued by the Italian coastguard in the Mediterranean while their cases are being processed. The plans sparked criticism from opposition parties in both countries and non-governmental groups. On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court of Albania temporarily blocked the ratification of the agreement by lawmakers. It ordered a public session next month to determine if the agreement violates the constitution.