It is a particular honour to be present at the official opening of the building of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, because on this day and upon this occasion we are putting in use more than just a building at a permanent address, of an institution with a fundamental importance for our country.
Honourable Prime Minister,
Honourable leaders of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo,
Ambassadors and representatives of the international missions in Kosovo,
Leaders and staff members of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a particular honour to be present at the official opening of the building of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, because on this day and upon this occasion we are putting in use more than just a building at a permanent address, of an institution with a fundamental importance for our country.
Today, we are honouring the work carried out to date for the development of this independent institution and its dedication to guarantee on a daily bases to Kosovo and its citizens a safe future – safety and security which will enable the country and its citizens a long life, a life during which they will be able to realize their full potential, in a country which will respect veraciously its rights and which will treat their liberties with utmost seriousness and which will treat each citizen with dignity and equally, regardless of their ethnic or religious background or their gender; in a country where institutions will earn the trust of the citizens, where they are transparent, democratic and accountable.
During the past decades, our country has gone through many transformative processes from which we have emerged with baldness and dedication to realize in fullness the dream of many a generations which sacrificed a lot for our freedom. Present day Kosovo is a realization of this enduring dream and of the implementation of this clear vision of its leadership and people to, with the support of the international community, build an independent, democratic and prosperous country, which acts as a factor of peace in the region and beyond.
The advancement and the experience of the Republic of Kosovo’s capacity and institution building towards the guaranteeing of the values upon which our state is founded, is a joint success story of local and international cooperation, which makes Kosovo’s recent history a global example of state building and a matchless international engagement.
In the course of a short time period, we have managed to transform ourselves from a country where the intelligence agencies where a repression tool, feared by the society and citizens, to a society which has as its main objective to invest in the security of each of its citizens and where each citizen cooperates with the institutions in faith that they exist to protect them and endeavour to ease the lives of its citizens in full honesty.
In this quest of ours towards the implementation of the sublime values upon which we swore to build our state, Kosovo Intelligence Agency constitutes the axis of these noble endeavours. The tasks and the mandate of this agency are vital to the future of Kosovo and its citizens and are closely entwined to the direction taken by our state towards the protection of freedom, independence and democracy.
Hence, a lot has been done to gather within the roof of this agency the most valuable assets of Kosovo and its most devoted individuals. Despite of the fact that the specific nature of your activities does not allow for the results of your work to be identified and be seen by the public eye, those results are very tangible on the daily bases, and continuously reflect upon the safety of Kosovo and the countries of the region.
Please allow me to, on behalf of the citizens of Kosovo, thank the KIA officials, to whom I wish that they pass on as an inheritance to the coming generations an even safer Kosovo. I also would like to sincerely thank all those friendly countries, our strategic partners and organisations, for their valuable help in raising the professional capacities of this important institution of the Republic of Kosovo.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honourable participants,
We are fully aware that Kosovo’s security and safety is still being challenged by the internal and external elements. But on the other hand, I am convinced that our dedication to overcome these challenges, in order to protect the constitutional order and values and ideals upon which we swore the oath and in order to strengthen our cooperation with our strategic partners will never be put to doubt.
In a world which still lives under the shadow of the bipolarity of the Cold War, but faced by unconventional threats from individuals and groups with fragile links on all four corners of the world, which use the technological advances of the 21st century, where many and various interests entwine and combine, we have an important role to play in prevention and fighting of the global terrorism, extremism and organised crime. Your endeavours and your vigilance will continue to remain essential to the security of Kosovo and its allies, because as institutions of the country, we have taken upon ourselves the obligation to guarantee the freedom, peace and democratic order of the Republic of Kosovo.
We stand on the right side of history, and in implementation of this vision of ours, we stand unwavering.
Thank you!