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Serbia, Kosovo, Greece Express Hope for Sustained Interest, Investment Through US Agency

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Serbia, Kosovo, Greece Express Hope for Sustained Interest, Investment Through US Agency Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Europe Serbia, Kosovo, Greece Express Hope for Sustained Interest, Investment Through US Agency By Natalie Liu May 12, 2021 01:35 AM V 4 WASHINGTON - The U.S. federal agency dubbed America's development bank says it is working with the State Department and Congress on the overall strategy of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) under the Biden administration. Diplomats from Serbia, Kosovo and Greece tell VOA that their countries hope for sustained American interest and investment in the Balkans and the Aegean. Focus is strong "DFC is strongly focused on our engagement. Our expert finance officers in Washington will continue to deepen cooperation with embassy officers and our partners in the region to identify promising new investment opportunities in the Balkans and the Aegean," David Marchick, DFC Chief Operating Officer, told VOA in a written statement. DFC was created thanks to bipartisan legislation signed into law by then- President Donald J. Trump in October 2018. Armed with $60 billion in funding Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM capacity, DFC is tasked with facilitating private-sector capital and skills in less wealthy countries' development. At its founding, the agency's official statement said it was also "charged with an important role in helping to advance U.S. foreign policy by countering the growing influence of authoritarian regimes." Observers noted that the newly established agency could function as America's strategic arm to check Chinese overseas investment and influence as it boosts U.S. commercial and strategic interests worldwide. First DFC office in Belgrade In September 2020, DFC established its first regional office, in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. U.S. officials traveled to Serbia, Kosovo and Greece to discuss ways to collaborate through DFC. The change of power in Washington a few months later is reported to have engendered a degree of uncertainty in Balkan and Aegean capitals concerning the fate of projects that had been under discussion, as well as the overall direction of U.S. government support for investment in the region. As if to allay such concerns, Marchick said in his written statement issued to VOA that "DFC is committed to supporting private sector investment in Serbia, Kosovo, and the broader region. We are eager to build on DFC's renewed Investment Incentive Agreements with Kosovo and Serbia, which we remain committed to, and continue our enhanced focus that began last year with the establishment of a regional DFC presence based out of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade." Calling this region a "critical priority," Marchick said DFC "continues to work closely with the U.S. embassies in the Balkans and the Aegean, and especially Embassy Belgrade, to staff the DFC regional office as we work with the State Department and Congress on DFC's overall strategy and resourcing for our overseas presence." Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM "We are working to help respond to the impacts of COVID-19 in the Balkans and the Aegean with a focus on building critical infrastructure to support economic growth; expanding access to renewable energy, technology, and healthcare; and advancing financial inclusion, particularly for small businesses and women entrepreneurs," he continued. Program welcomed For audiences back in the Balkans and the Aegean, more DFC, more America, is welcome news. As far as Greece is concerned, DFC is "a very important geoeconomic and geostrategic tool in a wider region that includes the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. It can prove very effective in promoting key infrastructure projects, including with regard to energy security, renewables and clean energy," Nikos Papadopoulos, the head of the Greek Embassy's public diplomacy section in Washington, told VOA. Looking to expand ties with U.S. Valdet Sadiku, who arrived a month and a half ago to lead Kosovo's diplomatic mission in Washington as charge d'affaires, said his country is looking forward to expanding ties with America "in every possible way." "For us, it's a priority," Sadiku told VOA in a phone interview. And even though elections have swept a new group of leaders into office in Pristina since February, Sadiku said, "I can assure you that nothing has changed regarding our relationship with the U.S. in general and DFC in particular in this case." "We want to honor the work of Mr. John Jovanovic (the inaugural DFC regional office director). He was really great and contributed to the effectiveness of this office," Marko Djuric, Serbia's ambassador to the United States, said in a recent interview with VOA. "We'll do our best to make our collaboration with the new director even more successful." Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM "Serbia's wish to build as strong as possible ties with the U.S. is nonpartisan," Djuric emphasized. "We want to work very intensely with the new administration to promote economic ties." "In fact, the entire region has been unanimous in supporting the work of the DFC," he added. "We're very keen to see DFC engage in as many concrete projects as possible." By Natalie Liu Diplomatic Correspondent Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM I DIPLOMAT HEALTH CONFERENCE MAY 19 & 20,2021 "---- , REGISTER Complimentary tickets ✓ Join more than 20 top doctors, government officials, journalists, diplomats and foreign health ministries for a virtual conference to discuss COVID-19 and health care Topics include: • COVID-19 IN THE USA -CARDIOLOGY - INNOVATION IN HEALTH MENTAL HEALTH - PRESIDENT BIDEN'S HEALTH CARE REFORMS • CHOOSING TOP HEALTH CARE • COVID-19 AROUND THE WORLD - EMBASSY PERSPECTIVE ON HEALTH CARE TIIE WASHINGTON iyjl Cigna DIPLOMAT Children's National Using the Hopin Virtual KZMPTON THE GEORGE WASHINGTON and Networking Platform 'U BANNEKER GLOBAL ENTERPRISES. INC & UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Subscribe About Us Support f @ in ^ *0 Advertise TRENDING NOW lis.more_disturbing_than_dre.amy < > Serbia's Marko Duric urges 'just solution' to bitter Kosovo dispute By Larry Luxner - April 19, 2021 f * V in - 4** \ • 3 A vt v * •k'* Serbian Ambassador Marko Duric March 26, 2018, is a day Marko Duric, Serbia's new ambassador to the United States, will never forget. On that Monday, Duric—at the time chief negotiator for Serbia's Office for Kosovo and Metohija— was meeting with local Serbs in the town of North Mitrovica when he was violently detained for having crossed into Kosovar territory illegally. A rather shocking video of the incident, which has been shared on YouTube more than 370,000 times, speaks for itself. "Authorities were duly notified that I was coming. So was the EU," Duric said in a recent phone interview, insisting that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his Kosovar counterpart, Hashim Thagi, specifically discussed the upcoming negotiations over a dinner in Brussels three days before the confrontation took place. "Nevertheless," he said, "they sent 250 heavily armed special unit members accompanied by 17 armored vehicles, basically stormed the roundtable venue and brutally beat up the democratically elected president of the Serbian community. They arrested and kidnapped me, brought me to Prishtine and paraded me on the main streets while filming with cellphones. It was quite traumatic. They put a knife to my throat." Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 05/12/2021 5:16:13 PM Screen grab from video showing the March 26, 2018, arrest in Kosovo of Marko Duric, who is now Serbia's ambassador to the United States. (Photo via YouTube) Vucic condemned the incident, as did the European Broadcasting Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), though Kosovo's then-deputy prime minister, Enver Hoxhaj, justified Duric's arrest on the grounds that his "unauthorized presence" in Kosovo had breached EU agreements between the two sides. Looking back three years later, Duric (pronounced DJOO-rich) said he never wanted to put himself in the spotlight—and that he prefers to bear the ordeal with dignity. "But it is unprecedented to treat an envoy like this," he complained. "Since the time of the ancient Persians, envoys have been treated with respect. They violated something that has been sacrosanct for millennia." Even so, said the 37-year-old ambassador, "I don't possess a single grain of hatred or resentment toward the Albanians or any nation. Of course, I do not forget and do not appreciate those political leaders who, by doing such a thing, did a disservice not only to myself but to their own cause." Duric aims to 'increase trust' between Washington, Belgrade Duric's great-grand uncle is Nikola Pasic, who served as prime minister of both Serbia and Yugoslavia in the early 20th century. Duric arrived in Washington last December with his wife and three daughters, presenting his credentials as ambassador in a Jan. 18 virtual ceremony. pirn u K rz X 1 * B 1 HP ; *—Hi! ;/ Cultural Center of Belgrade, located at Kneza Mihalia, a main public square. (Photo by Larry Luxner) Born and raised in Belgrade when it was still the capital of Yugoslavia, he also lived for a time in Israel; his maternal grandmother was interned in Auschwitz during World War II and was one of the few members of her family to survive the Holocaust.
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