Prizren, April 17, 2025
The acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the acting Deputy Prime Minister, Emilija Rexhepi, participated in the event organized on the occasion of the celebration of April 8, Roma Day.
“April 8 is a date of pride for the Roma community. I am glad to be here to celebrate with you. I am happy to confirm from here, among you, the support of our government and mine, to your community, which has a long heritage in our society and a valuable contribution to our country”, said Prime Minister Kurti at the beginning of his speech.
He said that we have worked together with members and representatives of the Roma community to increase opportunities for education, employment, health and welfare. On this occasion, he mentioned the scholarships allocated to pupils and students of non-majority communities, including Roma, support for learning centers for children, the establishment of the Inter-institutional Group for the Promotion of Employment of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, which has yielded positive results, and the adoption of the Regulation on Admission to the Civil Service to enable the announcement of job positions for members of non-majority communities, in case an institution has not met the legal quota of 10% for non-majority communities.
The Prime Minister emphasized that we are committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of the Roma community. We are committed every day to even deeper cooperation in order to achieve our common goals – for more equality and more well-being.
“We have many reasons to celebrate together, and many more to further strengthen our cooperation both on the challenges and on all the issues we face. Therefore, congratulations on the International Roma Day. Let us all work together, every day. Bahtalo 8 April!”, he said at the end.
Full speech of Prime Minister Kurti:
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister, Ms. Emilija Redzepi,
Honorable Minister for Regional Development, Mr. Fikrim Damka,
Honorable Mr. Albert Kinolli, elected Member of the Assembly of the Republic and Chairman of the United Roma Party of Kosovo,
Honorable elected Members of the Assembly of the Republic, Rasim Demiri, Enis Kervan and Fidan Jilta,
Honorable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Sisters and brothers,
April 8th is a day of pride for the Roma community. I am glad to be here to celebrate with you. I am happy to confirm from here, among you, the support of our government and mine, to your community, which has a long heritage in our society and a valuable contribution to our country.
Actions always speak louder than words. We have worked together with members and representatives of the Roma community to increase opportunities for education and training, employment, health and well-being. A more equal society is a society that, in addition to benefits, also increases opportunities to contribute. Benefits increase well-being and development. Contribution increases a sense of belonging and social cohesion.
During our government, we have prioritized supporting non-majority communities, including your community, in education and employment:
-We have allocated around 2,000 scholarships for students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, worth 600 thousand euros. Compared to all previous governments combined, we have tripled the support for scholarships;
-We have allocated 650 thousand euros for learning centers for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children, for a total of 1,905 children;
-Then, we established the Inter-institutional Group for the Promotion of Employment of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians. From 2022 to 2023, we have ensured a 31% increase in the number of jobs provided for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians through the Employment Agency;
-We approved the Regulation on Admission to the Civil Service, which is the legal basis for announcing job positions only for members of non-majority communities, in case an institution has not met the legal quota of 10% of employees who must be from non-majority communities.
In the Prime Minister’s Office and in four ministries, reserved job positions have been announced so far based on this Regulation.
I cannot end my speech without mentioning the importance of the Romani language. A beautiful language, which we also know through the poetry of Kujtim Paçaku, the dramaturgy of Nexhip Menekshe and the writings of Ibrahim Elshani and others. The Romani language is also used by the government; namely on the Platform of the Office for Community Affairs within the Prime Minister’s Office, where all information is available in the Romani language, along with the biweekly newsletter that is sent to more than 1,000 addresses by this Office.
As emphasized in the congratulations of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for April 8, we are committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of the Roma community. We are committed every day to even deeper cooperation for the realization of common goals – for more equality and more well-being.
We have many reasons to celebrate together, and many more to further strengthen our cooperation both for the challenges and for all the issues we face.
Therefore, congratulations on the International Roma Day. Let us all work together, every day.
Bahtalo April 8!
Thank you!
Last modified: April 22, 2025