Govt has to foot food bill for 'dishonest' Italian tourists: 'It was a matter of our honor'

Katherine Armstrong

 Post, BBC News

Usually, when it is reported in the news that a country has returned its debt to another country, it comes to the mind of the beholder that it must be millions or billions of dollars, and the debt is also owed by the country itself.  It must have been taken.

But recently, Italy, in a show of unique diplomacy, paid off a 'loan' by giving 80 Euros (about 2600 Pakistani Rupees) to an Albanian restaurant.

Some tourists from Italy ate at a restaurant in Albania and left without paying the bill.

The incident took place in the city of Berat, Albania, and subsequently made headlines in the newspapers of both countries.

The backlash over the incident prompted Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to discuss the matter with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni.  The exchange took place when the Italian Prime Minister was visiting Albania.

Prime Minister Edi Rama told La Stampa newspaper that in response, Prime Minister Georgia Milioni told her ambassador to "go and pay the bill for these idiots."

The Italian embassy in Albania confirmed in a statement that it had paid the bill.

"Italians respect the law and pay their debts and we hope that this type of incident will not happen again," the statement said.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's brother-in-law and Italy's Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, who accompanied him on the trip to Albania, told Reuters news agency that paying the bill was a matter of honor.

He said, "A few dishonest people cannot embarrass a civilized nation."

It is not clear when the incident took place but CCTV footage of the restaurant has gone viral on social media.  In the video, a group of people can be seen leaving the restaurant at night.

The owner of the restaurant told a local TV channel that it was the first time that his customers left without paying the bill.  He said that those four Italian tourists had also praised his food.