The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani – Sadriu received today with the highest state honors the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović who is on an official visit to Kosovo.
President Osmani and President Milanović held a joint meeting which concluded with a press conference. President Osmani said that Croatia is one of the countries that has stayed close to Kosovo at the most difficult moments and is also standing by Kosovo today.
“For this great support, the people of the Republic of Kosovo are extremely grateful to the Republic of Croatia and I would also like to thank President Milanović for his personal support to Kosovo on its move forward as an independent, sovereign and developed state and as an “equal among free nations,” said President Osmani.
The head of state further added that Republic of Kosovo and Republic of Croatia have excellent relations.
“We really consider Croatia a key ally. The relations between the two states are built upon the strong friendship ties that historically exist between our two nations. “Friendship and solidarity, of course, dates back to the 90s, when both nations were exposed to terrible wars,” said President Osmani.
Madam President said that we are pleased that Croatian citizens of Albanian origin are well integrated and feel proud citizens of the Republic of Croatia, as we are proud that many citizens of the Republic of Kosovo have contributed to the Croatian state in the army, economy, politics, sports and in many other fields.
She further said that in Kosovo there is a presence of the Croatian community who are considered extremely important parts of our society and a strong link between our two countries.
“We will do everything within our capacity to address the needs of all communities, including the needs of the Croatian community, so that they can prosper and move forward in their country, in the Republic of Kosovo,” said the President.
President Osmani also expressed her gratitude to the Croatian state for the contingent of Anti-Covid vaccines sent to Kosovo at a very difficult time period when we did not have vaccines, but also deep gratitude to Croatia for its solidarity with Kosovo after the tragic road accident of the passengers from Kosovo in July this year in Slavonski Brod, Croatia.
According to President Osmani, in the regional context, our state has made it clear that it is the vision not only of political representatives but of all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo for Kosovo to join Euro-Atlantic structures.
“Of course, we have never looked elsewhere. Therefore, we highly appreciate the help and support of Croatia in this regard. First of all, because as a country of our region, it already is a member of the European Union and we can learn a lot from the experience of this country, and secondly as a member of NATO it rightly understands how important it is for Kosovo to “be where the country belongs to, contributing to peace and stability in the region and in joining the NATO,” said the President.
The head of state said that it is extremely important for Kosovo to continue to consolidate its statehood, and in this regard, she expressed the hope that Croatia will continue to support the Republic of Kosovo in this hard journey, but definitely an unstoppable journey Kosovo as an independent, sovereign and a free state will not turn back.
“So, in this regard, we will continue to work in bilateral context with Croatia, because there are many areas in which we can make progress.
So far we have about 30 agreements concluded between the two countries, there are a few others that are in progress that we hope to push forward.
In particular, we are interested in advancing cooperation in the field of foreign policy, in the field of defense between the two armies and between the two ministries of defense, in the field of economy, as two countries which have historical ties with each other there is still a lot of unused space for trade and economic cooperation as well as in other areas of mutual interest,” said President Osmani.
According to her, the visit of the President of the Republic of Croatia is an important step towards advancing relations between our two countries and between our nations.