Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to visit Albania to step up joint efforts to tackle organised crime and illegal immigration as part of the partnership between the countries under the Joint Migration Task Force.
The PM will spend two days in the capital of Tirana, where he will visit the port of Durres to examine measures in place to intercept people-smugglers and other organised criminals contributing to illegal migration.
This comes in the wake of the Government’s new White Paper on Immigration, which sets out their plan to significantly lower net migration.
Starmer and Albanian PM Edi Rama are expected to jointly announce new measures to combat people smuggling and tackle illicit finance streams in order to crack down on criminality.
Measures deployed include the donation of equipment to detect forged documentation to Albanian law enforcement, as well as the funding of an enhanced forensics programme for improved intelligence sharing.
£1 million is to be invested in the partnership to expand Albania’s biometric and digital law enforcement capabilities.
The PM said: “Global challenges need shared solutions, and the work the UK and Albania is doing together is delivering security for working people in both countries.
“And our joint work to deter, detect and return illegal migrants is further proof that intervening upstream to protect British shores and secure our borders is the right approach.
“Every step we take to tackle illegal migration overseas, cripple the criminal networks that facilitate it and stem the finance streams that fund it is delivering safer streets in the UK, and reducing the strain on taxpayer funded services.
“But we cannot take this action alone, through closer partnerships and greater cooperation, we are creating real change with our partners across Europe and delivering on our Plan for Change.”
The PM is also expected to announce that the partnership, which aims to lower migration numbers by targeting upstream sources in countries like Albania and Kosovo, will be expanded to include North Macedonia and Montenegro.
Measures used by the Task Force include intelligence sharing between UK law enforcement and local specialists as well as the deployment of UK resources such as drones in order to catch people-smugglers.
Responding to the announcement, the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This entire visit is pure theatre.
“The returns deal with Albania was decisive action taken by the previous Conservative government, resulting in a cut to small boat arrivals from Albania by over 90%.
“So why is Starmer now flying out for a handshake in Tirana to claim credit? If the scheme is already working, what exactly is this trip for?
“If Starmer is so serious about cracking down on illegal migration, he should never have scrapped the Rwanda deterrent before it even started. We have seen from Australia that offshore deterrents work.
“Yet under Labour, 2025 is already the worst year on record for Channel crossings, with over 12,000 crossings and rising.”
Featured image via photowalking/Shutterstock
