Prishtina, 8 February, 2023
The first Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Development and Dialogue of the Republic of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, hosted a team from the European Investment Bank.
Part of this delegation were the head of the Division for the Western Balkans and Turkey, Matteo Rivellini, the head of the unit, Guido Clary and the EIB operations manager for Albania and Kosovo, Konstantinos Mastrogiannopoulos.
Mr. Rivellini emphasized at the beginning of the meeting the excellent cooperation that the European Investment Bank has with the state of Kosovo. This cooperation and support is proven by the figures, where since 2013 over 250 million euros have been given in the form of assistance.
The EIB cooperates in several structures and sectors such as infrastructure, the water system, the private sector, and will increase its focus in the near future more towards the energy sector, in order to address the energy crisis and decarbonization.
Also, it was mentioned that the EIB is in the process of opening an office in Kosovo, where one of their future objectives is to increase engagement in Kosovo and the region. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi offered his support and emphasized that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo supports this initiative.
Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi emphasized that the Government’s priorities, among others, are also in the increase of financing regarding the energy sector, the water system, waste management, entrepreneurship, increased investments, social policies and the rule of law. Further, 3 big projects regarding digitization were also discussed.
The parties agreed that close cooperation will continue, especially in the acceleration of the opening of the European Investment Bank office in Kosovo, as well as in the direction of larger development projects for Kosovo.
Last modified: February 9, 2023