The bilateral agreement between Albania and Italy for the shelter of migrants has been activated again, after a break of over two months.

The Italian military ship "Casiopea", which departed on Friday from the island of Lampedusa, arrived this Tuesday at the port of Shëngjin.

On board the ship are 49 illegal immigrants with nationalities from Egypt, Bangladesh, Ivory Coast and Gambia, writes TCH.

The military ship "Casiopea" was scheduled to arrive in Albanian waters on the morning of Monday, January 27, but due to a defect it suffered, the ship postponed its sailing to Tuesday, January 28.

This is the third contingent of illegal immigrants that arrived in Albania.

On October 16 and November 8, 2024, the warship "Libara" brought to Albania two contingents of 24 immigrants, mainly from Egypt and Bangladesh, who, following the decision of the Italian court, were returned to their countries of origin, as these two countries were considered safe countries.

Italian media reported a few days ago that the Italian navy patrol boat was in the waters near Lampedusa.

Earlier, Prime Minister Giorga Meloni firmly declared that operations with asylum seekers towards Shëngjin and Gjadri would resume in January, emphasizing that the Italo-Albanian model would work. As announced, the transfer of migrants resumed near the end of the month.

We recall that the Italian government faced a legal battle by blocking the implementation of the agreement, and even returning the first immigrants who arrived in Albania.

Two courts in Italy ruled two months ago to challenge the Italian government's decree on migrants, which reclassified the countries from which asylum seekers come. Several times, the courts refused to allow migrants to be brought to Shëngjin and Gjadra.

Until the European Court of Justice ruled in favor of Meloni, stating that according to the agreement, each country must have a personalized list of safe and unsafe countries.