The speech of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Mr. Igli Hasani, at the joint Press Conference with his counterpart, Mrs. Donika Gërvalla Schwarz.

Dear Donika, it is really a pleasure to be in Pristina today for my first bilateral visit. I want to thank my colleague, my sister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Donika Gërvalla Schwarz for the hospitality, but also for the open discussions we had.

I am happy that this visit comes at such an important and positive moment for Kosova, which has already received, finally, the liberalization of visas, expanding the opportunities and rights of its citizens. This is a positive decision not only for Kosovo, but for all the countries of the Western Balkans and for the European Union itself, a further incentive in our common journey towards the EU.

This visit is actually part of a tour to several countries in the region. After Kosova, I will also visit North Macedonia and then Montenegro. It is a tour that aims to share ideas and thoughts on the work that we should all do together for the good of the region and for the good of our citizens, to advance cooperation and the many projects between us, but also the integration of Western Balkans in the Euro-Atlantic space.

The region is going through a delicate moment today. We are all witnesses to the fact that despite the progress that has been made, security and stability are more threatened than at any other time during the last decade.

We have strongly condemned the orchestrated and armed violent attack against the police of the Republic of Kosova on September 24 last year in the north of the country. This attack is a criminal and dangerous terrorist act against the stability, integrity, independence, law and order of Kosova. The attack was a serious threat to the security and stability of our entire region, with direct consequences for our common Europe. The authors, organizers and instigators of this act must be held accountable and brought to

justice. This is necessary to prevent a further escalation of the situation, with possibly irreversible consequences.

Therefore, now more than ever, it is necessary for all those countries and those forces that believe in peace and stability, in Euro-Atlantic cooperation and integration, to work together for the future of our region and the good of our citizens.

Albanians must play a leading role in this effort for our common future. Obviously, Albania and Kosova should be at the heart of this effort, as two countries and one nation, which more than anyone else, support the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkans.

With Minister Gërvalla, with my dear friend Donika, we had the opportunity to discuss concretely and very constructively about these ideas and how we should advance our common agenda, starting with the coordination of the work of our two Ministries for:

• Updating the strategy for the revitalization of the process of international recognition of Kosova;
• Kosova’s membership in regional and international organizations and its integration into NATO where Albania is and will continue to be a strong supporter of the open door policy. Kosova’s membership in NATO is one of the priorities of the Albanian presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter, throughout the year 2024.

Regarding the integration in the European Union, this is one of the main points that Albania raises in every meeting and interaction with our European partners, that the full integration of the region in the EU is a necessity and the only way to guarantee peace once and for all and the stability of the Western Balkans and therefore of Europe itself.

Of course, as we have been doing for years, we are ready to help and support Kosova in the integration process, sharing our experience and the expertise we have accumulated over decades in this direction.

In this context, I want to use this opportunity to publicly congratulate the leadership of Kosova for the Brussels meeting on October 26, 2023, where EU proposals were accepted with great prudence and constructiveness.

This is a very important step forward, which puts Kosova in a much more favorable position. Everything that has been accepted and agreed upon must be implemented without any delay. We call on our Western partners to push forward at this moment towards final progress.

With Donika, we also discussed the implementation of the obligations arising from the agreements signed within the joint meetings of the two governments, but also about further cooperation to facilitate the movement of citizens and goods.

We agreed on the importance of increasing joint diplomatic representation, but also on coordination within economic diplomacy, which remains a primary need for both our countries. We also agreed to further promote and intensify the work for the Albanian diaspora everywhere in the world.

Regarding economic relations, I appreciated the steps taken to facilitate cross-border circulation in order to promote trade exchanges, but also the removal of border controls during the weekends on the Albania-Kosova border, which has brought an increase in the circulation of vehicles and travelers.

The study of the feasibility of the construction of the Durrës-Prishtina railway paves the way for the other project, that of the railway freight terminal in Pristina, called “Porti i Thatë”, which will transform the capital of Kosova to another level, for the transport of goods in the region.

In function of these ideas and in function of the progress of work, as part of the restructuring of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, we will soon have a special directorate, dedicated to the coordination of work with the Albanian factor in the region.

I want to thank Minister Gërvalla Schwarz again for the hospitality and once again express my personal willingness, as well as that of my colleagues, to advance, without wasting time, in all these initiatives and projects, which will deepen integration between us, but from which the whole region will benefit.