TIRANA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian Minister of Integration Klajda Gjosha on Wednesday invited stakeholders and civil society here to become part of Italy-Albania-Montenegro inter-border cooperation program, funded by European Union.
European Integration Ministry hosted a meeting with the civil society and other potential actors, inviting them to present their projects, and benefit from EU-funded program worth around 92 million euros (97.7 million U.S. dollars).
This program will be funded through instruments of pre-accession assistance, otherwise known by its acronym as IPA funds.
Joint projects will be particularly implemented in key sectors, areas such as the environment, competition, innovation, cultural and natural heritage and sustainable transportation, Gjosha said at a press conference.
Cross-border cooperation is not only an economic association, but above all, a human and cultural cooperation as well as an experience exchange to each of the participating countries to this program, said the minister.
According to Gjosha, this program will affect citizens in Albania to get closer to European values.
It will affect the removal of barriers and reduce disparities between regions to achieve a balanced economic, social and territorial development, she said.
Gjosha underlined that the cooperation between the countries, focused on this program, not only indicated but also supported the enlargement prospect, clear to all Western Balkan countries.
The program will be implemented in several phases, and the first phase is worth 25 million euros.
This phase will be implemented on the basis of public calls for projects, where everyone can participate, and it is expected to be published in the coming days, according to official sources from the integration ministry.
