EXCHANGES WITH MS FRIDA KRIFCA, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
01 March 2022, Paris, France
The Secretary-General of the CIHEAM, Mr Plácido Plaza Lopez received, on Tuesday 01 March 2022, Mrs Frida Krifca, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania who was visiting Paris on the occasion of the International Agricultural Fair.
Accompanied notably by H.E. Dritan Tola, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to France and Mr Enio CIVICI , the Delegate of Albania to the CIHEAM, Mrs Frida Krifca who took office in September 2021, wished to know better the CIHEAM and the priority areas of cooperation with her country.
The exchanges held on Newton Street highlighted the Minister's interest in strengthened collaboration on geographical indications and other signs of quality, greenhouse management, rural tourism, livestock and digitalization.
Student mobility, capacity building and policy dialogue
Albania has been a member of the CIHEAM since 1992, but exchanges with this country date back to the 1960s. Several hundred Albanian students have been trained in the institutes. Over the past twenty years, nearly 400 professionals have received specialized training, including through partnerships with Albanian administrations and universities. In addition, the CIHEAM institutes count among their professors and researchers several Internationally renowned Albanian experts particularly involved in projects with their country of origin.
In addition to training and capacity building activities, around thirty cooperation and development projects are currently underway in strategic areas: development of sustainable and innovative agri-food value chains including knowledge and technology transfer mechanisms, support in food safety and quality, regulation of food production, sustainable development of the olive sector and the sustainable management of marine and coastal resources in Albania.
Finally, it was in Tirana, the capital of Albania, that the 11th ministerial meeting of the CIHEAM member states was held in September 2016 on migration issues from the point of view of agricultural development and food security in the Mediterranean.
In the continuity of these exchanges, visits of the Minister are already scheduled in the CIHEAM Institutes.