Prishtina, 30 March 2026
Honorable Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers of the government cabinet,
Honourable members of the media and Government staff,
Dear citizens,
On Friday afternoon, I was a guest of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, at a meeting and working lunch at the Elysee Palace.
The warm reception was accompanied by a deep and candid discussion, lasting around two hours, which focused on issues of cooperation and integration, security and defence, as well as the economy and development.
With President Macron, we discussed our path towards membership in the European Union and other international organisations. Then, we discussed NATO’s important and continuing role in Kosovo, cooperation with our North Atlantic allies, and regional security in the Balkans. Strengthening defence capacities and relations with Kosovo’s northern neighbour were issues that, in the context of our country’s security, we discussed with the French President.
The organisation of new Kosovo-France business forums, as a continuation of the one successfully held here in Prishtina last month, as well as plans and investments in education, were also topics of the meeting. The supportive role and engagement of our French friends in the preparations for hosting the 2030 Mediterranean Games in our country is extremely important.
Honorable colleagues,
Dear citizens,
At the end of January 2025, we allocated 500 thousand euros in humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza. Today, meanwhile, on the agenda we have the proposed decision from the Ministry of Defence to request that the Assembly of the Republic take the decision on sending the Kosovo Security Force on a mission to Gaza, as part of the International Stabilisation Force.
Last year, Minister Ejup Maqedonci and the commander of our army, Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, requested permission to participate in a conference in Doha, Qatar, regarding the International Stabilisation Force, which, as the name itself indicates, aims to stabilise the security environment in Gaza.
Our Security Force has built an international reputation for its search-and-rescue and demining capabilities, and beyond.
We are ready to take part in the International Stabilisation Force and help the people of Gaza, also because we ourselves have been, and remain, beneficiaries of international forces since 1999.
Honorable colleagues,
Dear citizens,
The triumph in Bratislava in the “play-off” for the 2026 World Cup, where Slovakia came to know world-class footballers from Kosovo, constitutes a historic moment and success for our country.
At the end of November, we allocated 250 thousand euros on the occasion of securing the “play-off”, and on that same day, we pledged that we would allocate another 500 thousand euros in the event of victory against Slovakia.
This pledge will be fulfilled today.
But I do not want this to end here.
I strongly hope that our exemplary boys, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last night, will win the great “play-off” final and write their names into the history of Kosovo football as the first to make the World Cup dream a reality.
Qualification for the World Cup would give full meaning to the marking of the tenth anniversary of Kosovo’s admission to UEFA and FIFA.
A victory tomorrow, likewise, would be a reason for us to gather here again. In the event of qualification for the World Cup, we will allocate another 1 million euros for our national football team.
And, similarly to how we pledged last year rewards in the event of victory against Slovakia and in the event of qualification, today we are pledging that if we go through and qualify, there will be rewards beyond imagination for the successes that will follow at the World Cup, which will be held in the United States of America.
Honorable colleagues,
Today, on the agenda, we also have the proposed decision on approving the granting of the 13th salary to employees who are paid from the budget of the Republic of Kosovo. In this way, besides fulfilling another pledge made, as a Government we are also creating a new standard.
The adoption of the record budget in the amount of 4 billion euros and now the implementation of the 13th salary constitute two of the five decisions that we have singled out for the start of this new governing mandate. The third, the draft law on ceiling prices, work on which began immediately after the formation of the new Government, is expected to be implemented soon.
We are working on the necessary legal amendments to remove the employment restriction for veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army who receive benefits, and we are also preparing for the fifth decision, the approval of the Inflation Response Package 2.0, worth 200 million euros.
The Law on the State Bureau for Verification and Confiscation of Unjustifiable Assets, without a shred of doubt, constitutes one of our most important pledges in the field of justice. We will approve it again today. Unfortunately, the former office-holders responded to our great commitment to establishing the Bureau with opposition and unimaginable zeal.
We have been challenged, but we have not stopped, nor will we stop. We will establish the Bureau despite those who hide their true motives behind complaints to the Constitutional Court.
And, finally, before we move to the agenda of today’s meeting, we have good news from the children’s and youth orchestra “Amadeus”, who won the main “Grand Prix” award and first place at the international “Spring Symphonies” 2026 festival in Spain. As you know, at the penultimate meeting, on 19 March, we supported this orchestra. Congratulations to them and to all of us.
Also on the agenda we have the Draft Law on Social and Affordable Housing, a pledge that is already in the process of being implemented.
Since we have 14 items today, we are starting immediately without losing time.
Thank you!
