Facilitating movement at Qafë Thana customs/ Meeting between local officials of Pogradec and Struga

2026-06-19 15:04:00, Qyteti im CNA

Facilitating movement at Qafë Thana customs/ Meeting between local

A meeting was held today between local officials from Pogradec and Struga, with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Interior of North Macedonia, regarding the steps being taken to facilitate movement at the Qafë Thana border crossing point.

For several years, vehicle queues at this customs, especially during the tourist season, have been kilometer-long, while the agreement already signed by the Macedonian side, which is awaiting a VKM from the Albanian side, aims to shorten the waiting time through only one check at entry and exit.

"A few days ago, the agreement was passed in the parliament of North Macedonia, before the implementation is passed, we are talking about what should be done for the movement of people and goods. We heard different ideas not only for land traffic but also for movement in the waters of Ohrid. We will start other plans for implementation ," said the Deputy Minister of Interior of North Macedonia, Astrit Iseni.

The Prefect of Korça, Florinda Zegullaj, said that an inspection was carried out with the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia.

" We have had an inspection, the Minister of Internal Affairs, they have been familiar with the problems with this border point and have stated that this agreement will be ratified by Albania, so entry by entry, with a system. There should be no delays at this customs ," said the prefect of the Korça district, Florinda Zegullaj.

In addition to the accelerated movement through Qafë Thana, the mayors of Struga and Pogradec said that discussions and procedures for the movement of people and goods through Lake Ohrid are nearing completion.

The Mayor of Pogradec, Ilir Xhakolli, said that the lake does not separate the two countries, but unites them to use all resources.

" We have made every effort to make this work because it is a dream of our citizens, from both sides, this lake is not a lake that divides us but that unites us so that we can use all our resources for the development of tourism and their economy ," said the Mayor of Pogradec, Ilir Xhakoli.

" We think it should be realized because, in addition to the part where we are close but seem far away, it should make it possible for tourists to move around, which gives added value to tourism between the water line and the land line. That's why we are here, we hope that this process can be accelerated ," said the mayor of Struga, Mendi Qyra.

During the tourist season alone, about 1 million people enter and exit the Qafë Thana border crossing point, so such an agreement aims to make this movement easier during the tourist season by operating with a common system similar to that with Kosovo.