The EU funded Food Safety Project continues to implement activities to help strengthen plant health controls in Albania. Gabriel Roe, plant health expert from Ireland and Zyhrada Kongoli, national legal expert are working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to finalise a new plant health law that will align with EU rules. 

Certain aspects of the new law will come under the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment and the recently established Forestry Agency who met with Mr Roe during his recent mission to Albania.

During his visit Mr Roe also delivered training on plant health import inspections. Participants included staff from AKU's head office and border control posts in Durres, Rinas, Kapshtice, QafeThane, Morine and Hani i Hotit. The training was followed by a visit to AKU's laboratory in Durres that has been recently upgraded through support of the CIHEAM Bari SAFIAL project which is funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).