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

12. March 2010.

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.