Albania and Greece are intensifying customs cooperation through joint border management, digitization and electronic data exchange.
The 14th High Level Bilateral Meeting between the customs administrations of the two countries took place in Tirana, where the General Director of Customs, Besmir Beja, received the Greek counterpart, Dimitrios Bourikos.
The focus of the discussions were the facilitation of trade and movement, the operationalization of Green Lanes and SEED+, the digitization of procedures, as well as the strengthening of cooperation against smuggling and illegal traffic.
One of the concrete developments presented was the advancement of electronic data exchange at the border point of Kakavija.
In a reaction made public on social networks, the Customs Directorate emphasized that this is a concrete step towards the modernization of procedures and increased efficiency in border management, describing the meeting as an important moment for strengthening customs relations between Albania and Greece.
According to the General Directorate of Customs, the implementation phase from the Albanian side has been completed and the data is already being transmitted to the Greek administration. The aim is to gradually extend this process to other border points, improving risk analysis, speeding up procedures and increasing the efficiency of controls.
During the meeting, it was also discussed about the monitoring of flows and schedules at the common border points, the strengthening of cooperation between the customs structures of the two countries and the further development of cooperation between Sarandë and Corfu.
In the framework of the European integration process, the customs administrations exchanged experiences on the digital systems of the European Union, interoperability and risk management, agreeing on the continuation of technical cooperation, training and exchange of expertise.
The meeting concluded with the agreement on further steps towards the full functionalization of Green Lanes, the expansion of electronic data exchange and the strengthening of operational cooperation between the Albanian and Greek Customs.
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