Arben Ahmetaj

Albania's parliament voted on Friday to accept the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime's request to be able to arrest former Deputy Prime Minister, Arben Ahmetaj.

The SPAK had requested the arrest and a personal search warrant and a house search in connection with charges on corruption and money laundering.

Arben Ahmetaj, a long-time member of Albania's parliament and former Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister is facing a request from prosecutors for his arrest on charges of corruption and money laundering.

Ahmetaj, 54, holds parliamentary immunity, so the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK, has asked parliament for permission to arrest him.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced his new cabinet following the April 25 elections, creating a new record in the country by giving women 12 of the 16 posts in his team.

Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday axed seven of his 14 ministers after a year of popular protests against government policies.

Rama summoned the National Assembly of his governing Socialist Party in Tirana and insisted that the changes were "not the result of failures".

Improving economic cooperation with Albania

Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali spoke with Albanian Minister of Finance Arben Ahmetaj in Belgrade on Monday.

According to the Serbian government, they discussed "economic cooperation of the two countries and how this cooperation can be improved."

The Albanian government's plan to extend VAT to many of the country's small businesses has created confusion among business owners over the impact on their administrative costs and raised concerns about likely higher prices.

Opposition parties have slated the initiative, calling it a threat to the existence of many small businesses.

Albania officials says that they have reached an agreement with the shareholders in Tirana International Airport, TIA, to end its exclusive right to host international flights and build new airports that will host low-cost flights.

BELGRADE - Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbian deputy prime minister and minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, will confer with Arben Ahmetaj, Albanian minister of economic development, trade and entrepreneurship, on projects of regional importance in the Serbian government on Thursday.

Albania's Minister for the Economy, Arben Ahmetaj, told a parliamentary commission on Tuesday that the country could no longer afford to pay for new motorways on its own and would turn to the private sector for investment.

"Because of the financial situation that we have inherited we have found it impossible to provide this service,” he told parliament on Tuesday.