TIRANA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The first group of 16 migrants, sent from Italy, arrived at the port of Shengjin, Albania, on Wednesday.

Italy's Ansa news agency reported Monday that the Italian navy ship Libra was transporting the first group of asylum-seekers to one of the reception centers in Albania.

This marked the beginning of the implementation of an agreement signed last November between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Under the agreement, Albania will establish two facilities to accommodate up to 36,000 migrants from Italy over the next five years.

The migrants' asylum applications will be processed in Albania. Those granted asylum will be relocated to Italy, while those whose applications are rejected will be deported directly from Albania.

Of the migrants arriving in Albania on Wednesday, 10 are from Bangladesh and 6 from Egypt and all of them had been rescued at sea after departing from Libya.

Local authorities said that the migrants will undergo verification procedures in Shengjin before being transferred to an accommodation center in Gjader, both located in Albania's Lezhe region.

However, the project has caused controversy at domestic and European level. The centers have been criticized by center-left and left-wing political forces and human rights groups, who are concerned that asylum seekers' rights will not be sufficiently protected.

On the other hand, rightwing political forces in Italy and Europe view the project as a possible model for managing irregular immigration. Enditem

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