Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Cakaj attended the second high-level meeting of the Franco-German coordination initiative on combatting illicit trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans. This meeting was co-chaired by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas, and the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, with the European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Oliver Varhelyi, and Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson also attending this meeting.

In his speech, the Head of the Albanian diplomacy Cakaj underlined Albania’s determination to deliver on its commitments to combatting illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, considering this also as part of the action taken in the framework of European integration.

Pointing to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as a serious threat to peace and security of the nation, region, and beyond, Acting Minister Cakaj stressed that addressing of challenges with illicit use and trafficking in SALWs is among the priorities of the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship in the course of this year.

In this context, Acting Minister Cakaj announced that, in the second half of 2020, the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship is planning to convene an international conference on security challenges and SALWs.

Furthermore, Acting Minister Cakaj called the fight against organised crime and trafficking in SALWs a challenge to security for both the region and the EU. In this regards, Acting Minister Cakaj highlighted the importance of starting the accession negotiations, with this being instrumental in promoting reforms carried out by Albania and the region in this area.