Albania - On the last week of March 2023, the IOM Sub-regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans Laura Lungarotti visited Albania. She met with diplomatic representatives and institutional partners. 

“The European Commission’s Directorate-General for EU Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations is a key partner of IOM in Western Balkans for effective migration governance in the region. This week in Albania I met the EU Ambassador to Albania and reinforced joint key messages towards solutions-oriented measures from Albania and the region”, she wrote on Twitter.  

On March 29, the IOM Sub-regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans Laura Lungarotti, IOM Albania Head of Office Alma Jani and members of the IOM Albania team, paid a visit to the Migrant’s Registration and Temporary Accommodation Center in Kapshtica to which IOM has contributed to improvements in recent years. 

On a tour through the Center, Ms. Lunagrotti met with young migrants from Somalia and had a closer look at the registration and temporary accommodation processes. She also met with Mr. Behar Tafa, assistant to the General Director of Border and Migration at the Directorate of State Police and representatives from the Border Police, FRONTEX and Caritas Albania, and discussed the services provided, challenges and migrants' needs, prioritizing protection and fulfillment of migrants' rights. The discussion highlighted the need to provide updated information for assisted voluntary return alternatives.

Established in 2019 with a capacity to accommodate 60 irregular migrants and expanded in 2022 with an addition of 50 new beds, quarantine and WASH capacities the center supports migrants’ access to shelter, medical support, hygiene and other essential services, provided in cooperation with the Albanian State Police and humanitarian organizations.

IOM uses its extensive expertise and experience in preparedness and response to massive mixed migration movements, to provide support to the Albanian state as well as the individuals and communities affected to actively contribute to the efforts to effectively address related challenges.