Prishtina, 3 November 2010
Following there are full addresses by Prime Minister Thaçi and Prime Minister Erdogan:
The speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi:
Honorable Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Erdogan,
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and on behalf of its people, I would like to wish you a warm welcome to your friendly country, a brotherly welcome to the Republic of Kosovo, as you are the first Prime Minister of Turkey to visit Kosovo, and at the same time you are the first man who took a decision in the name of a world state to recognize the Republic of Kosovo.
This is an appreciation on behalf of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, a gratefulness of all its citizens. So, thank you for your decision!
Today, we are building a democratic and multiethnic Kosovo that is home to all its citizens, a tolerant Kosovo that promotes good neighborly relations with all the countries in the region, with Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro and in a near future also with Serbia, as two independent states.
For me and the people of Kosovo, today is a special day, because we are welcoming to the independent Kosovo a friend and a strong supporter of this reality in Kosovo and also of the peace and stability in the Balkans. Therefore, your personal role and that of Turkey will always be welcome in these engagements.
The cooperation between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Turkey has always been and will continue to be important, in interstate, cultural and religious relations, links that will keep strengthening today and in the future.
Honorable Prime Minister,
Allow me to express my gratitude for the presence of all the Turkish soldiers in KFOR. I want to thank you for the presence of experts and other professionals from Turkey as part of EULEX and also other international missions in the Republic of Kosovo, and also for the very close cooperation at the academic level, and for the student exchange programs.
We have nine cadets from Kosovo at the Turkish Police Academy, and I want to thank your for the readiness you have shown to accept them, and I want to thank you a lot for fully supporting the activities of the Turkish Agency for International Cooperation and Development in Kosovo – TIKA.
Also, it is a pleasure to confirm that it is this cooperation of ours, between Kosovo and Turkey, and support from you personally and your collaborators, along creation of preconditions and opportunities and a creative environment for businesses, that have encouraged many powerful investors from Turkey to invest in the Republic of Kosovo, some of whom are already present in Kosovo today. The others who are interested to come in the future, I want to point out, will also be welcome. Turkish investors are present in the implementation of major projects in the Republic of Kosovo, namely in building of the highway from Vërmica in the direction of Merdare, and also in the concession process of the Prishtina International Airport, in the energy process, in the privatization of Telecom and many other important investment fields in Kosovo.
Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Erdogan,
Kosovo is a new state, but it is a state of huge opportunities and all the investors have been and will be welcome.
Thank you for your support and your visit!
The speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan:
I want to express my pleasure to be the first Prime Minister of Turkey to visit the independent and democratic Kosovo.
I am here after two years of independence and I had a head to head meeting with the Prime Minister and both delegations from our countries. On this occasion we discussed about political, economic, historical and cultural dimensions and we also took the opportunity to assess these dimensions in the bilateral aspect.
The declaration of independence coincided with the meeting of our Council of Ministers and we accepted it as a fact that we needed to support this act by your legitimate institutions.
I am convinced that after the announcement of the opinion by the International Court of Justice on Kosovo, a new process will open and will influence a new direction in the dialogue between Belgrade and Prishtina.
I think that we have new developments from both parties, be it in Prishtina or in Belgrade.
Turkey is ready to take over its task in the future processes in support of stability in the region of Balkans.
About cooperation between our two countries, we have offered our support and we are aware of our duty to support Kosovo in the process of integration and accession in NATO.
The presence of the Turkish military contingent in Kosovo, as part of KFOR, has an additional mission, apart from maintaining peace in Kosovo, also to train the Kosovo Security Force.
Turkey has accepted a number of Kosovar youngsters to attain education in training in police academies in Turkey and we are convinced that one day they will be an important contribution to the building of the Kosovo state.
Our economic relations in the period of 2008-2009, despite the global crisis, and the trade exchange between our countries, marked an increase from $120 million to $210 million.
We should also mention other investments by Turkish companies as part of consortiums, like Bechtel& Enka in constructing important road links in the region and the LIMAK consortium that has taken over the task to administer and to extend the Prishtina International Airport.
Turkish entrepreneurs have also taken other steps in the energy sector to build thermal centrals for production of electrical energy and I believe that their success in this field will help improve the production of the electrical energy in Kosovo.
Kosovo has also potential to create revenues from the field of tourism. Kosovo has exceptional beauties and has inherited a chain of cultural and historical monuments
We, through the Turkish Agency for Reconstruction and Development – TIKA – are interested in reconstructing several cultural and historical sites which will make this country even more attractive and center of all the cultural activities.
Our experience in tourism development shows that investing in tourism infrastructure could multiply several times revenues from tourism.
We will continue to support brotherly cooperation also in this field between our two countries.
Myself and my brother Thaçi, in our discussions we had in Ankara, and also in today’s meeting, pledged ourselves to continue this unity and cooperation between our countries and help Kosovo have a brighter and more prosperous future.
On my behalf and on behalf of the Government of my country I thank you for your hospitality!
