In official visit, Kosovo PM focuses on trade ties

In addition to aiming to unify education curricula and cultural policies, Albanian PM says the countries would be better off with a customs' union

TIRANA, March 12 - Kosovo and Albania see increased economic ties and trade relations as key to the future of the already tight relationship, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said on Monday during his first official visit to Albania.

He met with his counterpart host, Edi Rama, and other senior officials in the country.

On March 23, governments of both countries will hold their joint meeting in Tirana, the second after that of Prizren last year.

The two premiers said at a news conference that both countries aimed at boosting economic ties.

Mustafa said that Albania and Kosovo have achieved good results in their cooperation in education and culture areas where they are trying to unify education curricula and cultural policies.

But both Mustafa and Rama said that Kosovo and Albania should now increase their efforts to boost economic ties and trade relations.

“We consider that we have great possibilities for cooperation in energy and infrastructure, fields in which we will join also with others states in the region,” Mustafa said.

Rama said that the two countries aim to take steps to form a customs union.

“We intend that documents recognized on one side of the border will be recognized automatically also on the other side, and that entrepreneurs will not lose more than five minutes when crossing borders," said Rama.

Mustafa also met with President Bujar Nishani, Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta, and leaders of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha and his predecessor Sali Berisha.

Joint energy market also in the works

Albania's energy minister, Damian Gjiknuri, on Tuesday made a visit to neighboring Kosovo to meet with authorities there in the joint actions of creating a united energy market.

Delegations of both countries held the first meeting to discuss on the ways to create such a joint market.

A 400 kV inter-connection link is in the works, aimed at being completed in about one year.

Gjiknuri and his host counterpart, Blerand Stavileci, said that the joint market would make possible for both countries to exploit the energy resources like coal and hydro in an effort to make the area self-sufficient.