From: Exit Staff
Albania is set to launch two satellites into orbit within the next year, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama.
On Wednesday, October 20, Rama posted a video on his Facebook, confirming the satellites were in the works, with Albania 1 to be launched in March 2022, and Albania 2 in June of the same year.
Rama first made the announcement in parliament last week, to much laughter from the Opposition, saying that the satellites will be used to monitor the Albanian territory and its borders.
Earlier this year, Minister of Interior Bledi Çuçi spoke of plans to increase the scope of government surveillance through additional security cameras and drones. Prime Minister Rama’s speech in Parliament suggests the satellites will be part of this plan.
Albania’s situation is unique as the Albanian airspace is monitored by the forces of the Italian Guardia di Finanzia to thwart cannabis cultivation. Cannabis sativa is grown across Albania illegally and transported to Europe.
Furthermore, Albania’s borders are guarded by the European Union’s Frontex.
To date, Rama or the Albanian government have not released further information on how the satellites will be used or how they will be funded.
“Albania in orbit, incredible, but real,” Rama says in the voice-over to the Facebook video.
