Albania Parliament approves new female-dominated Cabinet

TIRANA:

Albania

's Assembly, or parliament, on Friday approved

Cabinet

dominated by women, aiming to bring the country back to economic growth focusing on tourism and agriculture, infrastructure, and energy.

Following a 20-hour debate, the 140-seat parliament voted 77-53 for Prime Minister

Edi Rama

's new cabinet and program.

The left-wing Socialist Party secured a record third consecutive mandate in an April 25 parliamentary election, with 74 seats. The main opposition center-right Democratic Party got 59 seats.

The 57-year-old Rama boasted in his speech that "this new government will enter history as the cabinet with the highest number of women" - 12 in the 17-member cabinet, propelling Albania to the top of global rankings in terms of the percentage of women holding cabinet positions.

The government's main challenges will be completing the reconstruction process following the November 2019 earthquake and coping with the pandemic and its impact on the economy, as well as fighting corruption and drug trafficking, boosting growth to at least 4% annually, raising salaries, and lowering unemployment.

Rama wants to make Albania by 2030 "an absolute champion of tourism in the Balkans."

Albania, population 2.8 million, has been a

NATO

member since 2009 and hopes to launch full membership negotiations with the European Union later this year.