The UK is working with Albania and other countries from the Western Balkans in an attempt to reduce illegal migration, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on May 15 during his first official visit to Albania.

However, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama firmly rejected allowing the UK to set up a “return hub” – a centre for individuals who have exhausted all legal options to remain in Britain – on its territory. While asylum centres have been set up for migrants seeking to enter Italy, Tirana does not intend to make similar concessions to other countries, Rama said. 

Britain will intensify efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating across the Western Balkans that enable illegal migration, Starmer said on May 15, according to a UK government statement. 

The British prime minister unveiled a package of new measures aimed at tackling human trafficking and illegal migration from the region, including expanding a joint migration task force to include North Macedonia and Montenegro. The UK-led group, which already includes Albania and Kosovo, will now cover much of the Western Balkans.

“Global challenges need shared solutions,” Starmer said. “And our joint work to deter, detect and return illegal migrants is further proof that intervening upstream to protect British shores and secure our borders is the right approach.”

The statement from the UK government pointed out that Starmer’s two-day trip is the first official visit by a British prime minister to Albania, and reflects an effort to deepen bilateral cooperation on migration, organised crime and illicit finance. He visited the port city of Durrës on May 15, where British support has helped local authorities intercept people smugglers and detect fake documents.

The UK will donate two passport forgery detection machines to the Albanian State Police and launch a new initiative to crack down on money laundering networks operating between the two countries. London will also support border checks and fund forensic evidence-sharing programmes between the UK and Albania.

“There has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years,” the UK government said in a statement, adding that 5,294 Albanians were returned from the UK in 2024 – more than double the number in 2022.

Starmer also confirmed the UK is in talks with unspecified third countries to establish “return hubs”, reviving debate over controversial offshoring policies after an earlier scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was scrapped. “We are talking to a number of countries about return agreements,” he said at a press conference with Rama.

While the UK is seeking new partners for such schemes, Rama made it clear Albania would not be one of them. “I have been very clear … this was a single agreement with Italy,” he said, referring to a deal under which Albania agreed to host two migrant processing centres on behalf of Italy.

“I remain faithful to my marriage with Italy,” Rama added, jokingly. “A number of countries have asked us if we were ready for such a thing and we said no.”

Rama also referenced the negative way Albanians after often portrayed in the UK – an issue on which he has clashed with previous British governments – and spoke of the need “not to cultivate myths, including the myth that Albanians are a problem for Britain”. 

“Albanians continue to be stigmatised as if they are the problem of Great Britain by a number of media sources,” he added.

While Rama declined to host migrants for the UK, the two prime ministers found common ground on their support for Ukraine. 

“This is an important moment in the relations between our two countries and because never before have we been so connected on at least two important issues,” Rama told a joint press conference, according to a transcript published by the prime minister’s office. 

“Of course on the issue of Ukraine, as two countries that share Nato membership, and on the issue of the battle against illegal immigration and the criminal networks that stimulate illegal immigration, I believe that on the latter we have made extraordinary progress, while on the former, taking into account the generally more turbulent geopolitical situation, we have deepened cooperation and are working intensively to create more synergy in the field of security and especially defence.”

Starmer congratulated Rama on his recent re-election and spoke of his visit to Tirana opening "what I see as the next chapter in the strong relationship between our two countries”. 

He described Albania as “a strong Nato ally and a key partner in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression”. 

“I am pleased to speak here about the further deepening of the strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and Albania, a partnership that will deepen our cooperation in the areas of defence, security,” he said. 

The two countries plan to work together on the production and sale of military vehicles, it was announced on May 15, when a declaration of intent was signed. 

While no further details of the planned cooperation in defence were disclosed, Albania has already taken steps to turn the premises of a former printing press into a new military vehicle plant, targeting both the domestic market and exports.