Pristina, May 7, 2023
The all-day conference for the establishment of the Kosovo Sovereign Fund is being held today, a joint organization of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, in which the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, was the key speaker.
Expressing his satisfaction at this event today, in his speech, Prime Minister Kurti said that our Government stands strongly behind this vision of the Sovereign Fund, believing that such an initiative will result in stabilization of the economy through diversity, creation of profit for the state through wise investments, generating wealth for generations to come.
The draft law has recently passed the public consultations, and is one step closer to its approval and towards the crowning of the idea that started with the concept document on the Sovereign Fund led by Professor Besnik Pula last year.
Our public enterprises will become an integral part of the Fund, in order to increase the investment necessary for economic development, said Prime Minister Kurti, as he emphasized that during our government they have already been revived and returned to serve the citizens.
“We have empowered the boards of public enterprises with professionals from the private sector. Through them, we have ensured that harmful contracts, abuses and corruption do not take place in central enterprises. These enterprises have secured a profit of 94 million euros during this year, compared to 3 million losses before our governing mandate. Telecom has ensured profit and victory in international arbitration, increasing the quality of services for citizens after the government’s investment in this company in the amount of 20 million euros of credit. Trepça has increased its revenues from 15 million to 22 million euros and for the first time since the post-war it has recorded a profit. Now these enterprises will become a functional part of the Fund”, he said in his speech.
He also spoke about the Energy Corporation of Kosovo, for which he stated that despite the challenges in realizing capital investments, KEK during this past year, i.e. 2022, has realized the production plan to the extent of 97.6%, producing 5,680 GWh, exporting 581 GWh in a total value of 117 million euros, has reduced operating expenses and realized over 20 million euros in capital investments.
In the age of globalization, the speed at which innovation crosses borders through the exchange of capital and ideas is unprecedented. In order to increase the success rate and reduce the risks, responsible governments must make globalization work for the citizens, and this is exactly what the Sovereign Fund does, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized, among other things.
He thanked the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung for organizing the Conference in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, and wished welcome to all the guests present who came from Great Britain, Greece and Slovenia.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
The honorable Mr. Schlee,
Dear Ms. Pllana,
The honorable Mr. Ashmore, Mr. Dimitriadis, Mrs. Debelak,
Dear Professor Pula,
Dear Deputy Minister Mjeku,
Dear MP Statovci,
Honorable Deputy German Ambassador Conrad,
I am pleased to be with you today at this Conference. I hope this is just one of many that will address this important topic. I would like to thank Mr. Schlee and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation for organizing the Conference in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, and I wish to welcome all our guests from Great Britain, Greece and Slovenia who are with us today. Welcome.
Today we will talk about the establishment of the sovereign fund. Now that the draft law has passed the public consultations, we are one step closer to its approval and, with this, to the crowning of the idea that started with the concept document on the Sovereign Fund led by Professor Besnik Pula last year.
Our government stands strongly behind this vision, believing that such an initiative will result in stabilizing the economy through diversity, creating profit for the state through wise investments, and generating wealth for generations to come. All this, that is, with the aim of a macroeconomic transformation, based on a clear investment policy framework, through predictable legal provisions.
We live in an era of globalization and this is not a process that should be stopped. The speed at which innovation crosses the border through the exchange of capital and ideas is unprecedented. Such globalization brings with it the prospect of improving the lives of citizens. However, to increase the success rate and reduce the risks, responsible governments must make globalization work for citizens. This is exactly what the Sovereign Fund does.
Our public enterprises will become an integral part of the Fund, in order to increase the possibility of investments necessary for economic development. During our two-year government, we have recorded significant results in the economy.
We have empowered the boards of public enterprises with professionals from the private sector. Through them, we have ensured that harmful contracts, abuses and corruption do not take place in central enterprises. Enterprises have been revived and returned to the service of citizens. These enterprises have secured a profit of 94 million euros during this year, compared to 3 million losses before our governing mandate. Telecom has ensured profit and victory in international arbitration, increasing the quality of services for citizens after the government’s investment in this company in the amount of 20 million euros of credit. Trepça has increased its revenues from 15 million to 22 million euros and for the first time since the post-war it has recorded a profit. Now these enterprises will become a functional part of the Fund.
Despite the challenges in realizing capital investments, KEK during this past year, i.e. 2022, has realized the production plan to the extent of 97.6%, producing 5,680 GWh. It exported 581 GWh with a total value of 117 million euros, reduced operating expenses and made over 20 million euros in capital investments. With the realization of these investments, the conditions are created for the realization of the project of Electrofilters and equipment for reducing emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides (DeNOX) from next year with a grant from the European Union in the amount of 77 million euros.
In addition to strengthening public enterprises, we have worked on economic growth which has averaged 7 percent in the last two years, the largest ever since the post-war period. We have increased exports by 83.6 percent and foreign direct investments by 47.6 percent. We continue this trend with 25,000 new jobs created, a number that is growing every day through the new Superpuna platform. We have adjusted salaries in the public sector and made progress in the fight against corruption, increasing by 22 places according to Transparency International. We continue the fight against corruption with the anti-corruption strategy that will be drawn up this year and with a rich legislative agenda that marks a radical change in the fight against corruption through the establishment of the Bureau for confiscation of unjustifiable assets.
We are bringing foreign direct investments and exports to the Prime Minister’s Office through the establishment of a new professional agency, with rich staff with experience in domestic and international institutions, legal and economic professionals who will attract investments based on genuine development policies.
All these initiatives complement that of the Sovereign Fund, as the institutional investment tool that will operate in international financial markets, owned, managed and controlled by a responsible government and by a sovereign prepared and ready for the positive changes that await us.
Thank you.
Last modified: May 8, 2023