Tetovo, 11 August 2023
During his official visit today to the two municipalities of North Macedonia, the Municipality of Çair and the Municipality of Tetovo, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accompanied by the Mayor of Tetovo, Bilall Kasami, took part in the welcoming ceremony organized in his honor, in Iliria Square.
After expressing heartfelt thanks for the warm welcome he received, Prime Minister Kurti said that it is hard to find another nation in Europe, at least, for which geography has been so defining and important for its history, as it is for us Albanians.
Describing the aerial distance between Pristina and Tetovo, which is only 74 kilometers, but as a road distance, Pristina and Tetovo are 122 kilometers apart, Prime Minister Kurti said that beyond these two figures, where the road distance is almost double the aerial distance, there is also a third dimension, which is time.
“By shortening the roads, we gain on time. As I experienced it today, like a short journey that could become even shorter, because I came to meet you today with joy and desire. Indeed, at this point, I’m not talking about motorways and highways, but about the most important roads that are the roads of cooperation and coordination between us, between Prishtina and Skopje and Tirana, Tetovo and Gostivar, Kumanovo and Presheva, Shkodra and Ulcinj, so that we can live better and develop more without distinction and without discrimination,” said the Prime Minister.
To many of those present, Prime Minister Kurti said that the North Atlantic Alliance NATO, the European Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom are the valuable platforms that provide us with protection and security, especially at this time when Russian imperialism has brought war back to our European continent. “The closer North Macedonia is to Kosovo, Albania, and Bulgaria, and the further it is from Serbia, which is not distancing itself from Milosevic or Putin, the closer it will be to joining the European Union and the safer our Balkan region will be. And for this we must help and support North Macedonia”, said the Prime Minister.
Furthermore, he said he is there as Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, on a fraternal visit with Albanians from the regions of North Macedonia, our good neighbor and friendly country that recognized us as a state, the independent Republic of Kosovo from the outset, and with which we have so much exchange in all areas and good interstate relations.
“We Albanians, wherever we live, in the Balkans or abroad, must work for more democracy and freedom, justice, and well-being. Let’s help and support each other, for each other’s sake, not against anyone else. And we have proved this to ourselves and others, both throughout history and two decades ago, when thousands of Albanians from Kosovo were expelled during the war in 1999 from genocide and were sheltered by their Albanian brothers and sisters in all these areas,” he said, adding that the language we speak, our Albanian, the common past, our history, and collective feelings and perceptions, our identity, must be collectively revived. What happens in Kosovo is felt the same way in Tetovo, just as what worries you here is also our concern there.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Honorable Mayor of the Municipality of Tetova and the host of our meeting, Mr. Bilall Kasami,
Dear citizens of Tetovo and beloved Albanian brothers and sisters from all regions of North Macedonia,
Good evening and I’m happy to meet you here in “Iliria” square in Tetovo! When I left Pristina for Skopje today at noon, on the way to the car while I was once again looking at the agenda for today’s visit, I noticed that the protocol had written: 20:30: manifestations and concert in “Iliria” square of Tetova and then in brackets (thousands of people are expected). I am very happy as I am meeting you with so many of my sisters and brothers from Tetova and other inhabitants of Pollogu. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for this warm and hearfelt welcome from you.
My protocol is capable one, they didn’t have a hard time predicting that it will be such a big and impressive gathering tonight, because it’s about Tetova, it’s about Tetovars.
It is difficult to find another nation in Europe at least for whom geography has been so decisive and significant for its history, as is the case for us Albanians. Indeed, we cannot take any historical step without considering our geography as well.
The distance between Pristina and Tetovo, when viewed on the map as an air line, is only 74 kilometers, but as a road distance, Pristina and Tetovo are 122 kilometers apart from each other. And yet, beyond these two figures, where the road distance is almost twice as long as the aerial one, there is a third dimension, which is time. By shortening the roads, we gain on time. As I experienced it today, like a short journey that could become even shorter, because I came to meet you today with joy and desire. Indeed, at this point, I’m not talking about motorways and highways, but about the most important roads that are the roads of cooperation and coordination between us, between Prishtina and Skopje and Tirana, Tetovo and Gostivar, Kumanovo and Presheva, Shkodra and Ulcinj, so that we can live better and develop more without distinction and without discrimination.
The North Atlantic Alliance NATO, the European Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom are the valuable platforms that provide us with protection and security, especially at this time when Russian imperialism has brought war back to our European continent. The closer North Macedonia is to Kosovo, Albania, and Bulgaria, and the further it is from Serbia, which is not distancing itself from Milosevic or Putin, the closer it will be to joining the European Union and the safer our Balkan region will be. And for this we must help and support North Macedonia.
Honorable citizens,
Before I came here among you, together with other colleagues, with my Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Hysen Durmishi and my political advisor for North Macedonia, Bekim Qokun, we inaugurated the naming of a street called “Adem Demaçi” in the Municipality of Çair, and then we inaugurated a road segment that connects the villages of Sellce and Vice in Tetovo. All of these increase and advances the paths between us, expanding spaces and increasing the opportunities for cooperation between North Macedonia and Kosovo. This is vital for our relationships as humans, as citizens, and as states, therefore, we must continue on our path of building as many roads as possible, without deviating from the path and without getting tired along the way.
Today, I came here among you as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, on a fraternal visit with you Albanians from these regions of North Macedonia, our good neighbor and friendly country that recognized us as a state, the independent Republic of Kosovo from the outset, and with which we have so much exchange in all areas and good interstate relations.
The road intersection Prizren-Tetovo is already agreed by our two governments. I have signed this agreement with former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and we have continued it with current Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski. My Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, has agreed with his counterpart, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Bekim Rexhepi and the Director of the State Enterprise, Ejup Rrustemi, on one of the six options that emerged from the feasibility study with a 6.4 kilometer tunnel, slightly longer than the one in Kalimash, and from 15 kilometers on both sides of the tunnel. The estimated cost of this axis of great intercity, national, regional and European significance is around 200 million euros, 3/4 for the tunnel and the rest for the roads on both sides of it that connect Prizren with Tetovo, that connect Tetovo with Prizren. So, the cost is not that high, while the benefit is so extraordinary that it’s immeasurable. Therefore, any delays for this infrastructural axis are unacceptable and harmful and I seek the help of all of you and each one of you who are here, and who are following us now or later, to collectively mobilize and activate ourselves so that no day is lost without working for this road axis that connects Prizren with Tetovo, which in the eyes of God in the sky have been one city and when they fell on earth they were separated by Sharri mountains, and became Tetovo here and Prizren on the other side. Let’s make Prizren and Tetova one with the road axis that connects us with this tunnel. We, the prime ministers, governments, commissions, have agreed that delays are unacceptable.
Honorable participants,
We Albanians, wherever we live, in the Balkans or abroad, must work for more democracy and freedom, justice, and well-being. Let’s help and support each other, for each other’s sake, not against anyone else. And we have proven this to ourselves and others, both throughout history and two decades ago, when thousands of Albanians from Kosovo, expelled during the 1999 war due to genocide, were sheltered by their Albanian brothers and sisters from all over the region. The language we speak, our Albanian, the common past, our history, and collective feelings and perceptions, in other words our identity, must be collectively revived. What happens in Kosovo is felt the same way in Tetovo, just as what worries you here is also our concern there.
Let us reflect among ourselves tonight on these paths and the others that await us, as we enjoy the artistic performances of the Artistic Cultural Society “Xheladin Zeqiri”, the soloist Melisa Loki, and our famous music band “Elita 5”.
Thank you very much for placing us politicians between our national anthem “United Around the Flag”, then the now legendary song that resonates in the reality of Albanians everywhere “Mora fjalë”, and after us we will continue with “Elita 5”, so that our music, our songs, our politics, our thoughts, our hearts are more alive than ever before and let’s move together and forward like never before.
I love you with all my heart, I am forever grateful and thank you very much for this warm and heartfelt welcome. Thank you!
Last modified: August 15, 2023