Albania Approves Bilateral Agreement with Northern Macedonia for Joint Border Points

The decision envisions the establishment of joint crossing points and the carrying out of joint control activities, with implementation to begin initially at the Qafa Than border point.

The basic innovation of the agreement lies in the nature of control. Since the August 2023 inauguration, Qafe Thana functions with a single stop, but with two parallel checks, border police officers from the two countries, located in the same cabin, each processing the traveler on the basis of their respective jurisdiction. The new agreement is aimed at switching from this logistics model (“One Stop Stop Two Shops” to a single integrated and integrated check (“One Stop One Shop”), known as the entrance regime: a stop and a joint procedure, where the action of control is conducted simultaneously for both states.

The difference is not merely quantitative but qualitative: transition from two parallel jurisdictions under the same roof towards a single joint control action.

The ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Northern Macedonia, Denion Meidani, named this development as fulfilling one of the first commitments to his mandate. We don't erase it with words, but we make it easier in action. That's the real meaning of good neighbourlyity; the line being cut down, waiting reduced and timed back to our families and citizens, Maidan said.

The need for easing procedures is reflected in the flow of travelers. During 2025, some 4.58 million crossings were registered at border points between the two countries, out of which over 2.3 million only through Qafe Thanes, a point that is used intensively during the summer season by northern Macedonia citizens towards the Albanian coast.

For full access to the system remains the signing of the final agreement between the two countries' interior ministries. After the pilot phase in Qafe Thana, the model is expected to gradually extend to other border points connecting Albania with northern Macedonia. / TCh/