TIRANA, Albania — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron hailed progress in a U.K.-Albania joint effort to cut illegal migration, saying small boat arrivals from Albania to the U.K. fell by over 90% in 2023 as the two countries fought people smuggling gangs, according to a Foreign Office statement.
During his visit to the Albanian capital, Tirana, Cameron discussed the need for greater collaboration across Europe on the challenge of migration, including organized crime, Western Balkan security, and both countries' support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, according to the statement Wednesday.
The statement said ''the partnership between the U.K. and Albania stands out as a leading example of disrupting the business models of callous people smuggling gangs, significantly reducing dangerous small boats crossings, and providing a more prosperous future for young Albanians.'' Almost 6,000 Albanians were removed from the U.K. in the last 12 months, the statement added.
Cameron called U.K.-Albania's ''incredibly positive partnership'' in fighting illegal migration, ''an example for many others to follow.''
''We've shown that if you are innovative, if you are creative, if you go to genuine partnership, if you work together as you follow things through, you can achieve extraordinary things which are of benefit to both countries,'' he said at a news conference with host Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Albanian nationals were among the 45,000 people who arrived in the U.K. in speedboats in 2022, looking for higher-paying jobs than in neighboring countries such as Greece or Italy, according to British authorities and the Albanian local media. Many end up working in cannabis-growing houses for up to two years to pay back the trafficking money.
Top British officials at the time called Albanians' arrivals ''an invasion,'' sparking a diplomatic spat. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called that a ''crazy narrative'' and an attempt to cover up for the U.K.'s failed border policies. Albanians cannot seek asylum status in the U.K., which considers Albania to be a safe country.
In 2022, London and Tirana signed an agreement to return Albanians arriving on boats in the U.K. London also has funded projects, especially in northeastern Albania where most of the illegal newcomers were from.
