On
18 January 2008, the WB hosted a meeting of the Sector Working Group
on Environment, Natural Resources and Rural Development. The meeting
had the participation of the Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry
and Water Administration, Mr. Taulant Bino, representatives from MoEFWA
and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumers’ Protection,
Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunication, and Council
of Ministers, as well as donor representatives from the WB, the
Netherlands, Swedish Embassy, UNDP, USAID, the OSCE Presence, KfW, GTZ,
Swiss Cooperation Office, Austrian Development Agency, Spanish
Cooperation and SNV. The Government representatives reported on the
work done by the respective Ministries to implement the new sector
strategies adopted by the Albanian Government and presented the main
priorities set by them. Donor representatives briefed the meeting on
their support programmes to environment, agriculture and rural
development and confirmed their continued interest in these areas. The
meeting had also discussions on the scope of the Thematic Working
Group, and the future meetings of the group.