Now we are closing another year. It is a year that we have started well. Since January 1 of this year, we have started to enjoy the freedom we deserve – visa liberalization. The closeness we have with the countries of Western Europe has always existed, but now it has become concrete and functional. We, as a government, are working to translate this closeness into other tangible rights.
Our distance has not only been shortened with Europe, but also with the world. Our passport is stronger than ever before. The abolition of visas from Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan, as well as the recognition of the passport of the Republic of Kosovo by two non-recognizing states – Spain and Armenia – are great achievements. This is a new moment for our country. We rank higher than ever before in the international passport index, and according to the Henley Index, this year we are among the 10 passports that have marked the greatest improvement in the last decade.
Kosovo also received a credit rating for the first time from the renowned American agency Fitch Ratings, which considers the country’s financial outlook as stable and serves as a strong seal for foreign investors.
This shows that the change in the country is also reflected in the international impression. We are a stronger country abroad because we are stronger at home. This has been a year of respecting the law and strengthening governance.
And this year, the registration and payment of electricity has begun in the four municipalities in the north, for the first time in more than two decades. Also, the process of converting driver’s licenses from illegal to official ones of the Republic of Kosovo has been successfully completed. Over 6,300 conversions have been registered, most of them by citizens of the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. This is proof that integration requires readiness, persistence and commitment – not surrender from the start. And, our government has had a record number and amount of development projects, social programs and support measures for non-majority communities, without distinction.
Many of the illegal structures have now been closed, because they are illegal. The squares in the north are no longer places of fear, where residents are watched and blackmailed for their every move, but have become spaces that unite all of Kosovo – a dynamic public sphere of a rapidly developing country.
This government continues to be for everyone. The breadth of a state is best seen in relation to those who depend most on its services. Pensions have increased by 20%. The minimum wage has increased after 13 years. Child benefits have been increased and are continuing. Public health services have been expanded, many for the first time, providing decent care for all. And starting from February 1, 2025, the prices of over 2,900 medicines will be up to ten times lower.
But we are a government that also supports those who contribute to building the country in all possible aspects. Those who are full of ideas and innovation, who are bringing about the creation of new companies and new jobs, and who, as a result, are a pillar of the country’s development.
Dear citizens,
Once again, this year we have experienced an attack on our state. And once again this year we have shown internal coordination that has enabled us to overcome the attacks. These attacks remind us of two truths: that there are individuals and groups with malicious intentions against us, but that our determination always surpasses the malice of criminal groups and the states that support them. The steps we have taken, from strengthening and expanding the army, to the contract for the Ammunition Factory, are important actions for our future and our security, which is on a trajectory of strengthening.
Successes came with challenges. The problem with electricity supply, which we have been facing in recent days, is not the result of a lack of electricity, but of high energy consumption, which is challenging the transmission network, in which for years and decades there has been insufficient investment. We are very sorry for the situation caused by the supply as a result of the network load. We have requested from the transmission and distribution network operators, KOSTT and KEDS, maximum commitment in solving the problems of technical breakdowns and load management. Despite the problems inherited, from privatization and not only, we are working, with everything we know and can, to address these. We are doing this through investments that have been missing for decades in capacity building and improving energy infrastructure, which have begun precisely during our mandate.
We are also strengthening our energy security and independence: with the inauguration of the ALPEX exchange, the solar and wind energy auctions, which we have held for the first time this year, and the Compact project with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, we are investing 236.7 million dollars.
We close this year with the commitment to leave this year’s challenges behind and move forward with even more strength and determination. And just as we started the year well, we enter this change of seasons well, together.
Happy New Year 2025, to all of you dear citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, your families and loved ones!
Last modified: January 6, 2025