Meta says Tirana to continue lobbying on Kosovo

TIRANA, Nov 26 – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ilir Meta held a two-day visit to Kosovo Nov. 25-26 to meet with top officials there.
During this visit, formal bilateral talks were held between the two delegations which also signed the Protocol of Cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries.
Meta had separate meetings with Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Speaker of Parliament Jakup Krasniqi and his counterpart Skender Hyseni.
Meta also met with KFOR commander Gen. Markus Bentli, leaders of political parties and representatives of minority communities, including the Serbs.
Officials of both countries considered as excellent their bilateral ties adding that economic and trade exchanges are growing from year to year.
A main goal of this visit was also the coordination of activities between the two Foreign Ministries along Kosovo’s efforts to secure more recognition from other countries in the world.
Meta congratulated the Kosovar senior officials on holding the first round of local elections, which were internationally praised for meeting the standards and their calm climate, another proof that processes launched in Kosovo are irreversible, and that its democracy is functional.
Meta said that this is a very important moment for Kosovo, because now there is a new dynamic by the European Union with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and the very positive developments in relation to Albania’ integration into the EU will affect significantly in favor of Kosovo’s European future.
Meta welcomed the commitment of the Kosovo Government to meet all the obligations deriving from the EU progress report and the proposals to begin the dialogue on visa liberalization process, trade agreements in the EU zone, and talks on the stabilization association process.
Meta reiterated Albania’s commitment to support the involvement and representation of Kosovo in all regional initiatives and beyond, and in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes.
The two interlocutors shared the opinion that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legitimacy of Kosovo’s independence would be fair and realistic and that it will not affect the independence of Kosovo, now recognized by 63 countries.
With President Sejdiu Meta talked on their bilateral relations, the cooperation within the European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes, developments in the region and beyond.
Meta praised the cooperation of Kosovo authorities with EULEX mission and other international presence, while respecting the Constitution of Kosovo and expressed his belief that they will fulfill their responsibilities for the guarantee of rule of law, the achievement of European standards, paving the way to EU and NATO integration.
With Premier Thaci Meta praised the consolidation of the Kosovo institutions and expressed his satisfaction for the outstanding successes achieved in a short time.
Meta and Thaci said both cabinets were working intensively to prepare new agreements in economy, justice, education, culture, tourism, health, environment and others, which will transform the relations between the two countries into a model for the entire region.
With Speaker Krasniqi Meta praised the participation in the parliament of the representatives of the minority communities, including the Serbs.
They discussed about the strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation, especially the parliamentary committees, where the exchange of experiences takes a special importance for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration.