Albania has started to implement joint agreements with Kosovo, signed in Elbasan on November 26 last year.

The agreement envisages the opening of the Kosovo customs office in the Port of Durrës and all the facilities that the office will bring and will recognize some protocols, which will pave the way for others.

The Council of Ministers of Albania has decided to propose to the Albanian Parliament the draft law on the implementation of mutual facilities in customs procedures and/or control of entry and exit of goods. The proposal will be reviewed and then approved by the Parliament.

“This agreement goes to Parliament and will facilitate bilateral relations and trade between our two countries, recognizing all licenses and customs agencies at the border. Both countries will recognize controls of only one country, reducing the time of customs control,” the Minister of Finance and Economy, Delina Ibrahimaj said after a government meeting. "The agreement envisages the opening of the Kosovo customs point in the Port of Durrës and all the facilities that this point will bring and will recognize some protocols which will open the way for others.”

The government of Kosovo also approved the draft law of the agreement between Kosovo and Albania on the implementation of customs facilities and control of entry and exit of goods. The Kosovo Minister of Finance, Hekuran Murati, said that this agreement envisages a series of customs and trade facilities between the two countries. "It also provides for the establishment of the customs office of the Republic of Kosovo in the customs area of the Port of Durres and Porto Romano. The agreement also includes the deepening of cooperation between the two countries," Murati noted.

Murati also said that Kosovo, the ratification of the agreement in Parliament will provide customs facilities and control the entry and exit of goods of the two countries.

The new customs point in Durrës is welcomed by Kosovo businesses, taking into account that the Port of Durrës offers opportunities for faster and cheaper movement of goods to and from Kosovo.

Kosovo Customs said for Monitor that for Kosovo importers, the operation of the customs office in the Port of Durrës has reduced transport costs, time and bureaucratic trade procedures.

More than 60% of foreign goods entering Kosovo, according to official data, use maritime transport, namely the Port of Durrës and Shengjin in Albania. The use of maritime transport for imported goods had begun to increase after the completion of the "Ibrahim Rugova" highway, also known as "Rruga e Kombit", which connects Kosovo with Albania.

“Kosovo businesses almost over 60% of the goods they import from different distant countries through sea travel use the Port of Durrës and this is the opportunity that has been offered, also because of the road infrastructure that has been built," the head of Kosovo Business Alliance, Agim Shahini, said.

The GAP Institute study recommends the establishment of a stable bilateral structure, with political and technical representation, with a clear mandate and task of monitoring and accelerating the implementation of agreements, removing barriers and pursuing other steps towards economic integration.

Official data show that the value of products, which are imported from Albania to Kosovo, amounts to about Euro 200 million per year, while the value of Kosovo products exported to Albania is about Euro 60 million.