International Co-operation

ALBANIAN VICE-PRIME MINISTER ILJIR META IN SOUTH SERBIA: DISCRIMINATION IS PAST HISTORY

 The second day of the Albanian Vice-Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Iljir Meta’s visit to Serbia was hosted by President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja and Minister for Public Administration and Local self-Government Milan Markovic. They met in Presevo with President of the Municipality of Presevo Ragmi Mustafa, as well as with President of the Municipal Assembly of Presevo Skender Destani. On that occasion, the Albanian Foreign Affairs Minister Iljir Meta pointed out that his visit to Serbia was a historic one, since he was the first Albanian official that visited Serbia upon Albania’s recognition of Kosovo. He said that the period of ethnic discrimination in South Serbia was over and asked Albanians to cooperate with the Serbian government on improvement of their rights. He also emphasized that it was very important for Albanians to establish their National Council. Mr. Meta said that he would encourage Albanian investors to invest in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, as well as that he would insist on economic cooperation between Serbia and Albania, particularly on Albania’s participation in the Serbian government’s projects that are implemented in these three municipalities by the Coordination Body.

Minister Milan Markovic, President of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, agreed that the visit was a historic one, because Iljir Meta was the very first Albanian politician that paid a visit to South Serbia, which clearly shows that the Serbian-Albanian relations were getting normalized. Mr. Markovic underscored that it was very important for us that the Albanian Vice-Prime Minister had convinced himself of the situation in the southern Serbian municipalities and that he had seen the Serbian government’s efforts to improve the position of the Albanian minority in Serbia.

 
Meeting Held with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities - February 19, 2009.

Knut Vollebaek, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, talked with Nenad Djurdjevic, Director of the Coordination Body’s Office, about the position of ethnic minorities in South Serbia. The meeting was attended by Hans Ola Urstad, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, as well as by his associates.

The representatives of the OSCE and Coordination Body agreed that the most important topics in South Serbia included the establishment of multi-ethnic governments in Bujanovac and Presevo, a reform of the judiciary, the strengthening of the integration process of all ethnic communities and the solving of issues in the field of education.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the OSCE and Coordination Body had been successfully cooperating on resolving the issues in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja and on raising the quality of life of the citizens of the three municipalities for a long time. At the same time, the representatives of the OSCE and Coordination Body agreed to continue their cooperation, particularly in the process of establishing multi-ethnic local self-governments and participation of Albanian representatives in the work of the Coordination Body.


Visit of the Russian Ambassador, Alexander Konuzin, to the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja - 4. February 2009.

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Serbia, Alexander Konuzin, visited South Serbia on February 2 and 3, 2009. The visit was organized with support of the Coordination Body of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. During the visit, Ambassador Konuzin met with local self-governments’ officials, as well as with representatives of the Serbian political groups in the municipal assemblies of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. The goal of Ambassador Konuzin’s visit was his familiarization with political and economic situation in South Serbia.

During his tour of Presevo and Bujanovac, Ambassador Konuzin, Vice President of the Coordination Body Sima Gazikalovic and Director of the Coordination Body Nenad Djurdjevic met with Mayors of Presevo and Bujanovac, Nader Sadiku and Saip Kamberi, as well as with Presidents of the Municipal Assemblies, Ragmi Mustafa and Jonuz Musliu. The most important topics discussed with the mayors of Presevo and Bujanovac, as well as with representatives of the Serbian political groups in these municipalities, include the need for establishing multi-ethnic local self-governments, participation of   Albanian representatives in the Coordination Body’s operation, integration of the Albanians in the governmental institutions and improvement of the educational system in these municipalities. During the meeting, the mayors voiced their satisfaction with the visit of the Russian Federation’s Ambassador. It was concluded that the situation in South Serbia was stable and that implementation of the existing projects and the conceiving of new development projects were a priority. The mayor of Presevo, Nader Sadiku, stated that the Coordination Body had invested considerable funds in development of the municipalities in South Serbia. He pointed out that “a period of increased activity is expected upon the appointment of Milan Markovic to the position of President of the Coordination Body.”

One of the most important topics discussed was the economic backwardness of Presevo and Bujanovac and the possibilities for their economic development. Ambassador Konuzin emphasized that the greatest potential for economic cooperation was Serbia’s export of agricultural produce to Russia. Ambassador Konuzin underlined that the import of agricultural produce from Serbia increased by 50% every year and he asked local self-governments’ officials to get in touch with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Russian-Serbian Business Council, so that they could get included in the commercial exchange and stimulate the exports of their produce. “All problems are easily solved when the economy is functional,” Ambassador Konuzin said.