TIRANA (Albania), November 16 (SeeNews) – Albania’s infrastructure ministry said on Friday it has received a 1.4 million euro ($1.6 million) grant from the Norwegian government in support of a project for the development of the country’s maritime sector.
The maritime industry development project is implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the Albania’s infrastructure ministry, the ministry said in a press release, following the presentation of the project in Tirana.
“The project aims to increase the integration of Albanian naval standards in line with EU criteria through the creation of a maritime policy framework,” the statement added.
The grant by the Norwegian government will also be used to support an educational programme related to maritime transport in the universities of Albania's port cities of Durres and Vlora.
The main objectives of the project are to strengthen the maritime regulatory framework in line with international maritime practice and EU legislative criteria, strengthening the institutional capacity to harmonize standards and regulations through training and exchange programmes, and increase government efforts to promote the creation of maritime clusters and coordination between them.
($ = 0.8832 euro)