FAO headquarters, Rome – The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration of the Republic of Albania and the FAO on behalf of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) have just signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen their cooperation and technical assistance activities over the next years.

As the Mid-term strategy (2017-2020) towards sustainable fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea has just been launched, this signature represents an important steps to support the country in strengthening its capacity and reach a level playing field with other countries in the region in order to achieve the important targets set for the near future. It is a strong signal that shows a clear and shared willingness to cooperate and achieve common goals thanks to the technical assistance that will be provided by the GFCM.

The main cooperation areas identified relate in particular to the development of a national fisheries data collection system, the establishment of effective port state measures for the fight against IUU fishing, and support to the development of a national strategic plan for sustainable aquaculture.

The letter of agreement was signed by H.E. Edmond Panariti, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration of the Republic of Albania and Ms Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General Climate and Natural Resources of FAO.

In expressing his strong satisfaction for such collaboration, Mr Panariti expressed confidence that it would contribute to finding appropriate solutions taking into account the national priorities for the sector and underlined the willingness of his country to implement the measures foreseen by the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing which entered into force on 5 June 2016. 

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