In the light of the UNDP project "Weapons in Exchange for Development", the collection of weapons began in the village of Shergjan, district of Elbasan, in the presence of the UNDP Resident Representative a. i. , Parviz Fartash, the Minister of Public Order, Spartak Poçi, the USAID Country Director, Howard Sumka, as well as other Government officials. A number of 1,239 weapons and tons of ammunition were collected in July-August in the entire district.

Following up the UNICEF project "Alliance of the Albanian Children", two sessions of the youth parliament were held in Gjirokastra (South) and Shkodra (North) aiming to promote proactive participation of youngsters in civil society. Former Speakers of the Albanian Parliament attended the meetings, and shown their encouragement to this initiative.

WFP Country Programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture for the implementation of the WFP Food for Work (FFW) project in the district of Mat (Northeast). The project includes rehabilitation works for the irrigation canal (28 km long) in its most damaged part (a total of 8 km), and it will employ 92 workers from the local area.

GEF/Small Grants Programme is encouraging the exchange of best practices among NGOs and community based organizations. This initiative includes visits to the projects sites, training and dissemination of related information. The first visit was organized in Gorica, (Korça) where two projects are currently under implementation. Similar activities are scheduled to take place in Shkodra and Divjaka during September.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has elected a Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary. In addition, the CEC approved the new ballot system to be used for the upcoming elections. The new ballots will introduce improved security elements.

Thirty-four political parties and a coalition of the union of right-wing parties have registered with the CEC for the October elections.

The list of 2,335,264 voters, prepared by the Electoral Assistance Project (UNDP and Albanian Government), was presented to the CEC. The subsequent verification of the list is to be undertaken by local government election commissions by 13 September. In addition, this project will produce a voter’s identification card also in September.

As stated in the electoral code, the CEC approved the organization of the local government election commissions in 307 communes and 65 municipalities. Such commissions consist of seven members, representing seven political parties.

A group of 150 international observers (OSCE, CoE, ODIR, etc.) will be arriving in Albania to monitor the electoral process.

The Albanian Prime Minister, Ilir Meta, met with US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, in his official visit to the US. The US State Secretary confirmed the strong support to the attempts being made by the Albanian Government in the strengthening of democratic rule within a united and free Europe. During his visit, Meta met with members of the US Senate and other high-ranking officials.

Representatives from governments of Albania, Greece and Macedonia met in Florine, Greece, in order to discuss tripartite projects in the areas of infrastructure, telecommunication, health, and education in the framework of the poverty reduction program, and with a view to contribute to better regional cooperation. The Deputy Prime Minister, Makbule Çeço, headed the Albanian delegation. Particular attention was paid to the construction of the inter-connection rail line Zemblak-Bitola, including the construction of the Zemblak substation (400/110 KW) in Korça, with an estimated cost of 28,6 million USD.

In response to the mine incidents in the North, a mine clearance operation is under development along the Albania-Kosovo border area, covering the villages of Lekaj, Peraj, Zjeg, Dobrume and Vlahan. Over the last two months three hectares have been cleared, while the total mined area is estimated at 1400 hectares.

The Greek Minister of Public Order, Michalis Chrysochoides, met with his Albanian counterpart, Spartak Poçi, to discuss bilateral issues related to security, trafficking, border control etc. The Minister also met with the Albanian President and the Prime Minister.

Fire outbreaks were reported in several districts of Albania. Fifty hectares of forests in the Gramsh and Librazhd (Southeast) area were burned, while three big fires were recorded in Puka and Kukës (North). Fires during the period June-August 2000 damaged about 800 hectares of forests in the district of Kukës.