The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani met with the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, with whom she discussed the expansion of cooperation between the two states.
Prime Minister Trudeau congratulated President Osmani on the mandate to advance many of the values that do matter to Canada. He also stressed that the President's firm stance on democracy and anti-corruption, progressive views on either the environment or the empowerment of women, are areas in which Canada expects to work together with Kosovo.
President Osmani has highlighted many areas in which new chapters of cooperation with Canada can be actuated, in fields as varied as defense and diplomacy to trade and education. According to her, Kosovo can benefit from the Canadian experience, especially in terms of the inclusion of women in decision-making.
During the meeting, President Osmani thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada's support provided to Kosovo at various time periods. In this context, President Osmani assessed the relations with Canada as excellent and mentioned that in this spirit during this visit she awarded the Canadian Armed Forces with the Presidential Military Medal for their contribution under the NATO forces, during the intervention in Kosovo in 1999 and for their service in Kosovo for over two decades.
President Osmani received the support of the Canadian Prime Minister for Kosovo's efforts in gaining membership in international organizations and for the recognition process, emphasizing that Kosovo's goal is its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. President Osmani stressed that Kosovo is implementing comprehensive reforms which aim to strengthen law and order but also to create a favourable environment for foreign investments and for the creation of new workplaces.
Speaking in relation to the current situation in the region, President Osmani stressed that the inciting discourse from Serbia, backed by the expansion of Russian influence in the region, poses a potential destabilization risk for the region and is in contradiction with the Euro-Atlantic values.