Tirana, October 03, 2016 – The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, started his official visit to Albania with a joint meeting with his homologue, Bujar Nishani.
After the completion of the bilateral meeting, at the joint press conference, President Thaçi said that Kosovo and Albania have excellent bilateral relations, having no contentious issues between them.
“The relations between the two countries are excellent and have already gained the inseparable dimension of strategic partnership, which has opened the way to the institutionalization of our relations in all fields. We are a model for the region in the field of cooperation and we have progress in all sectors”, said President Thaçi.
The Head of State stressed that the economic relations between Kosovo and Albania have also noted an increase and, according to him, the mutual investment in road infrastructure has contributed to this growth.
President Thaçi added that Kosovo and Albania cooperate brilliantly on the international scene as well.
“Albania has always requested equal participation of Kosovo in all regional and international initiatives, and Kosovo has strongly supported the establishment of the headquarters of the Western Balkans Fund and the Regional Office for Cooperation Youth in Tirana, which implies the strengthening of the role of Albania in the region”, said President Thaçi, adding that the cooperation is also important for the Western Balkans in the framework of the Berlin Process, which is a bridge between the countries of the region and the European Union.
Whereas, the President of Albania, Bujar Nishani has said that Kosovo is consolidated as a state and is successfully continuing economic reforms, the strengthening of the rule of law and the building of democratic institutions and good governance.
“After the entry into force of the SAA, as the first contractual agreement of Kosovo and the EU, we hope that the conclusion of the process of visa liberalization by the European Commission will also occur soon, because there is no other alternative than the European integration of Kosovo and Albania”, said President Nishani.
He added that Albania will always be an advocate of Kosovo in international forums.
“We will always be supporters of the aspiration of Kosovo’s membership in international organizations and forums”, said President Nishani.
President Thaçi and his Albanian homologue, Bujar Nishani, have also emphasized the need for increased cooperation in the academic sphere.
They said that the great opportunities that exist must be used to increase cooperation between universities of both countries as well.
Also, President Thaçi said that more joint projects should be developed by the two respective academies, projects that should also be of interest to the international public and that serve to the interests of both countries.
On his official visit to Albania, President Thaçi is also accompanied by the Minister of Infrastructure, Lutfi Zharku and the Minister of Agriculture, Memli Krasniqi