Albania’s prime minister says his government turned down many requests from other European Union countries to take in thousands of asylum-seekers but made an exception for Italy.

Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders.

Italy’s far-right government is rolling out what it says could be a model for solving one of the West’s most politically charged problems: illegal migration.

A ship carrying the first group of migrants to be processed in Albania under a deal with Italy arrived in the port of Shengjin on Wednesday morning, setting in motion the first scheme by a European Union state to divert asylum seekers abroad.

Italy's scheme to transfer asylum seekers to Albania has gotten underway. Critics accuse the far-right government in Rome of violating international humanitarian laws and creating a troubling model for other EU countries to follow.

An Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin to bring the first group of 16 migrants intercepted in international waters.

Italy has built two reception centres in Albania, in the first scheme by a EU nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country.