Movement for Pan-National Development Area set up

TIRANA, July 11 – Behgjet Pacolli, Kosovo’s former short-term president, and current first deputy Prime Minister, was in Tirana for the second time this year to step up economic cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. A joint forum, bringing together politicians, academics and businessmen was successfully concluded last weekend with the announcement of the Movement for Pan-National Development Area which will be headed by Pacolli, a successful business entrepreneur.
Former Albanian presidents Rexhep Mejdani and Alfred Moisiu Kosovo academic Rexhep Qosja are also part of the Movement’s board whose goal is to establish a joint Albanian market by removing trade and administrative barriers.
“The idea I unveiled in the Albanian Parliament on the establishment of the Pan-Albanian Development Movement, a kind of national unity starting from economy, hailed by the most prominent intellectuals of the Albanian-speaking area, perfectly came true in this forum,” said Pacolli in the forum where a variety of topics such as agriculture, a joint energy market, academic and diplomatic cooperation were discussed.
Next autumn, the Movement will meet in Prishtina to discuss cooperation on education.
Addressing a joint business forum in Tirana earlier this year, Pacolli said “the loss of the two countries from the removal of customs duties will be negligible compared to the benefits of our economies and businesses.”
Kosovo agricultural producers have continuously complained during this year customs barriers and high reference prices made the entry of their products to Albania impossible.
The construction of the Durres-Kukes highway linking Albania to Kosovo in the shortest possible way has also influenced the increasing trade exchanges between the two countries. Trade exchanges between Albania and Kosovo in 2010 reached 93.8 million Euros, accounting for 2.1 percent of Albania’s total trade exchanges, according to the Ministry of Economy. Data show Albanian imports from Kosovo remain at low levels, accounting for only 0.9 percent of total imports. Meanwhile, Albanian exports to Kosovo have grown considerably to reach 6.1 percent of total exports– making Kosovo the second most important destination for Albanian products after Italy.