Berlin, 6 May 2010 – On the first day of his official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, the President of Republic of Kosovo, Dr. Fatmir Sejdiu met with the highest state officials of Germany, including Dr. Horst Köhler, the President of Bundestag, Dr. Norbert Lammert and the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Guido Westerwelle. In the meantime, he visited the Körber Foundation. He will meet the Chancellor Angela Merkel in the afternoon.
Our delegation is composed of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Skender Hyseni, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ahmet Shala, and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Lutfi Zharku.
The First Lady Nezafete Sejdiu and members of his cabinet will accompany President Sejdiu during the visit.
Initially, President Köhler organized a reception for President Sejdiu with the highest state honors. The two presidents listened to the hymns of their respective states and then marched in front of the Corps of Honor, which honored President Sejdiu’s visit to Germany.
During a long meeting with President Köhler, President Sejdiu expressed his appreciation for the unreserved support that the German state has and is providing to Kosovo in every field, starting from a continuous support to the entire course of major political processes, the engagement of the German soldiers within KFOR troops and up to the German share in the international presence in our country since the end of the war and up to the present.
He also considered that the German state has provided a significant financial support to the Republic of Kosovo all the time, especially after the war, during the reconstruction of our country and the creation of better living conditions for our people.
President Sejdiu praised the good economic cooperation between the two countries and the investments made by the German businesses in our country in particular.
In a statement following the meetings, President Sejdiu said that he was satisfied with the promises that the German leaders had given to him.
In addition, President Sejdiu said that the friend German state has and will support Kosovo on its road to European integration, in the preservation of its integrity as an independent and sovereign state and in accomplishing its objective of becoming an economically developed state.
“In terms of its unreserved support, Germany remains a partner to Kosovo and to the all the people of Kosovo, irrespective of their ethnicity, as well as a partner resolved to support Kosovo in other processes that relate to the European integration”, President Sejdiu emphasized.
President Sejdiu also emphasized that Kosovo is an independent and sovereign state and that ominous predictions of opponents of Kosovo’s independence who used to say that Kosovo will never become a stable country and will produce instability in the region will never come true. “On the contrary”, President added, “we have proved that we can maintain stability in our country and we are happy to be able to update countries like Germany on the progress and achievements that we have made and on challenges that we are facing”.
President Sejdiu’s meetings with the President of Bundestag Dr. Norbert Lammert and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle also discussed cooperation between Kosovo and Germany.
President Sejdiu updated his interlocutors on the latest evolutions in Kosovo in every field and on multiple challenges that lie ahead of our country on its road to development and functionality of its state institutions. A special emphasis was laid on the ultimate objective of our country to become a member of the Euro-Atlantic institutions, now that it has acceded to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He also had a friendly meeting with representatives of the Körber Foundation, which was attended by many important political figures of Germany, including the former German state representatives and the former German leaders of international institutions in our country.
In a rather extensive speech, President Sejdiu provided a overview of the general state of affairs in our country and presented the course that the Republic of Kosovo will follow towards its development and integration into international institutions.
He also responded to participants’ curiosity about an array of issues that were raised for discussion.
In the afternoon, President Sejdiu will meet the Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of other German state officials, and meetings will continue tomorrow.