TIRANA, March 30 – Niko Peleshi, Speaker of Albania’s assembly, announced the formation of a commission to oversee the country’s territorial-administrative reform. He said cooperation between the main parties has started positively.

Speaking in Maliq Municipality, Peleshi said the goal is to produce a final reform plan agreed upon by all sides. He added that bipartisan consensus would make the reform more sustainable. Proposals circulating in the media still require discussion among all commission members.

Peleshi emphasized that the reform should focus on improving municipal efficiency and aligning rural and urban areas. He praised the 2015 reform, which merged urban and rural municipalities, allowing the country to better use its agricultural potential. Peripheral municipalities face challenges from migration toward metropolitan areas and must find ways to maintain economic capacity and retain local populations.

He rejected any attempts to politicize the process. Peleshi said he intends to foster a positive and cooperative climate and acknowledged the difficulty of achieving consensus. He expressed hope that the reform will produce a constructive outcome for all municipalities.

/a.p./