Ukraine and Albania signed an agreement on international road transport on 16 June, establishing the legal basis for direct freight and passenger road links between the two countries and liberalizing cargo haulage.
Until now, no accessible mechanism existed for that traffic. Trucks and buses registered in Ukraine could not enter Albania except through one-off permits, and the same restriction applied to Albanian carriers — leaving no standing route for exporting goods, importing them, or moving passengers by road.
The deal removes that barrier and introduces what Kyiv calls a "transport visa-free" regime — the liberalization of freight transport — alongside rules for bilateral and transit traffic across both states, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development said.
Albania becomes the 37th "transport visa-free" partner
"Expanding the geography of transport is a direct priority for the Ministry of Development and our team," said Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development. "Albania is the 37th country with which we will have a 'transport visa-free' regime."
The agreement was signed by Deputy Minister Serhii Derkach and Albania's Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Enea Karakaçi. It also creates a joint commission to coordinate implementation, including transport procedures, the exchange of statistical data, and cooperation between the two governments' competent authorities.
The ministry framed the deal as a step toward closer transport ties with Southeast Europe and new logistics routes for Ukrainian business. The document takes effect once both countries complete their domestic ratification procedures.
The deal deepens ties that have grown sharply since Russia's full-scale invasion. Albania, a NATO member, joined EU sanctions on Russia at the outset and has been among Kyiv's firmest backers in the Western Balkans. Ukraine and Albania signed a ten-year security cooperation pact in January, and in late May Tirana summoned Russia's ambassador twice after a Russian strike damaged its envoy's residence in Kyiv.
The transport agreement fits a wider push to build alternative trade corridors while Russia's war on Ukraine disrupts shipping. In April, Parliament ratified a comparable road-transport agreement with Morocco, opening a direct route to a market where bilateral trade reached about $280 million.
