ADDRESS BY MR HASHIM THACI PRIME MINISTER OF

AM120e-X 1 Transcript

Address by Mr Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister of Kosovo

to the Opening Session of the Annual Meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors

Friday 10 May 2013

PRIME MINISTER HASHIM THAÇI: Ladies and gentlemen, dear President Chakrabarti, Prime Minister Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister Babacan, dear Prime Ministers of Egypt, Tunis and , I am very proud today, in the name of the State of Kosovo, to participate for the first time in such a meeting. Thank you very much, dear President, for your contribution and saying that Kosovo is now a member of the EBRD.

We are a new state in the world and the latest country to become a member of the EBRD. It has not been easy for us to build the country because at the same time we have fought for freedom and democracy. Kosovo is now a free, independent and sovereign country. We have democracy, a free economy and a Euro-Atlantic perspective. Kosovo is a new country but has a lot of potential. Kosovo is now recognised in hundreds of countries from around the world.

I would like to repeat a big thank-you in the name of the institutions of Kosovo and the people of Kosovo to the Prime Minister of , the first country to recognise the independence of Kosovo. I also thank the Prime Minister of Jordan. I know that many countries have procedures for recognising Kosovo.

Kosovo has a multi-ethnic society and is a country that has produced peace, stability and regional cooperation. Of course, we worked very hard, as soon as we could, to become part

AM120e-X 2 of NATO and the EU. We worked on economic development, and we invested a lot in peace in our region. A few days ago in Brussels, Kosovo and achieved a peace agreement for normalisation of the relationship between the two countries. We have had a hundred years of conflict but now we have an agreement for peace. This agreement will reflect peace, stability and cooperation and will send the best message in our region. We have invested a great deal in this agreement and I would like to thank all of you who have contributed to the agreement. It will help all the countries that are in the process of recognising Kosovo to do so as soon as possible.

Thank you once again, Mr President, for your invitation. I thank the Government of Turkey for its invitation. We will be a very serious partner of the EBRD. Thank you very much.

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