Washington, September 13 – The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, who is staying in Washington, United States of America, signed on behalf of the Republic of Kosovo, the agreement between Kosovo and MCC.
On this occasion, President Thaçi said that this is a big day in Washington DC for Kosovo.
“We always have good days in Washington because Kosovo and USA have a long and strong friendship, but today is special day because we are adding one more friend in the long list of friends in this capital. We are signing this agreement with MCC and opening a new page of relations, focused on economic development and rule of law”, stressed President Thaçi.
He further said that this agreement is a very strong new tool of support for people of Kosovo, and that it will help Kosovo implement the MCC program.
“It will help Kosovo establish a foundation that will invest almost 50 million dollars in a very focused way. These investments will help Kosovo government and Kosovo businesses deal with electricity supply, with energy saving and with making government transparent for citizens”, affirmed President Thaçi.
The Head of State said that since the first day of his presidency he has followed the MCC process, adding that this agreement and this day today is only made possible with great help of Congressman Engel. Thank you Congressman for your dedication to Kosovo and for bringing MCC to Kosovo. Thank you to honorable members of Congress and Senate that have helped Kosovo in this process. Also thank you to our teams, led by Sarah Olmstad and Petrit Selimi who have worked very hard and very fast to create the projects and to bring this agreement to this day”, added President Thaçi.
He further said that we are dedicated to make sure the projects are implemented, “We have new government but as President of the Republic I can confirm that the MCC projects are supported by all political parties and by all institutions. Kosovo civil society and Kosovo private sector will also be important elements of the support”.
On this occasion, President Thaçi expressed his gratitude to former President Jahjaga and former Prime Minister Mustafa for their support for the MCC.
Considering it a day of celebration, President Thaçi said that it is a day we celebrate this cooperation between many organizations in Kosovo but also between Kosovo and United States.
“This Agreement I will sign today with Acting Director Nash is an instrument but my hope is that many more instruments can be developed with the MCC support and will help creation of jobs and poverty in Kosovo. So, today we celebrate here in US Congress with friends of Kosovo, but we also promise to start working as of tomorrow to make this Agreement a reason for celebration for thousands of people back in Kosovo”.
On the other hand MCC Acting CEO Jonathan Nash said that the MCC helps governments connect some of the world’s poorest people to jobs, markets, and opportunities.
“The U.S. Government, through MCC, will work with the Government of Kosovo to implement policy and institutional reforms that increase transparency and strengthen the country’s energy sector”, he said.
Meanwhile, US Congressman Eliot Engel said that, “Kosovo is moving along the path toward Euro-Atlantic integration, and this new partnership will help push the country toward that goal”.
Whereas, Petrit Selimi, National Coordinator for the Millennium Challenge in Kosovo, said that the signing of the Threshold Agreement is the end of the process of developing projects but it also marks a beginning of an exciting new opportunity for Kosovo institutions, civil society and private sector to cooperate in fixing some of the most important constrains to growth in Kosovo. We look forward to seeing the projects start on the ground and deliver results that will help Kosovo tackle energy efficiency, corruption and good governance as well as air pollution”.
The MCC “Threshold” program is focused on critical areas for Kosovo’s future, and it will accelerate investments in energy efficiency and will support efforts to promote an effective and accountable governance.