Prishtina, 25 October 2022
Prime Minister Kurti’s speech at Austrain Embassy reception on the ocassion of the National Day of Austria:
My dear friend Ambassador Weidinger,
Dear ministers of the Government and members of the Parliament,
Excellences,
Religious leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to celebrate with you here today the National Day of Austria, a dear country to our nation, a country that supported the statehood of Kosova and its people in our most difficult times.
We know that Austria has contributed a lot to developing ties with our people, beginning during the early ‘70s – the Gastarbeiter times, then offering shelter to our citizens during the occupation and war in the ‘90s; securing peace with Austrian KFOR soldiers and the recognition of our independence in 2008.
Let me express a Grossen Dank to all of these soldiers for their service in our country. In addition, we enjoy having a large diaspora in Austria with many thousands of people living, studying and working in the country.
Austria’s declaration of Neutrality on the 26th of October 1965 never meant political restraint, but international cooperation based on true European values, aimed at securing peace globally, enshrined in its constitution.
Kosova has received a lot of this support and therefore has achieved a lot. These achievements are in large part due to allies in Austria. We remember Alois Mock, who, as Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was a strong voice for Kosova during the 90s, likewise former Chancellor Franz Vranicki and especially his deputy Vice-Chancellor Erhard Busek, and of course diplomats such as Fürst Albert Rohan, activists and intellectuals like Christine von Kohl, to most recent European parliamentarians like Ulrike Lunacek and Lukas Mandl. We thank Austria’s leadership, especially the current government, which includes visa-liberalization for our citizens in its governing program.
Apart from our close cultural and political ties, as Prime Minister I am especially proud that our economic cooperation in trade and investments are growing.
Austrian companies rank among the biggest investors in Kosova, in services as well as banking, insurance, and renewable energy.
During the last common economic forum held in Prishtina in the spring of this year and the last visit of Chancellor Nehammer and Foreign Minister Schallenberg in Prishtina, we agreed to more economic exchange and I am looking forward to visiting Vienna in mid-November to further develop this relationship.
In particular, I would like to thank Ambassador Weidinger for discussions and conversations that we had over coffee, wine and lunches, the last one being recent, where besides agreeing in so many political and geopolitical issues, we also have established that the two best operas ever written are both from Mozzart, namely “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovani”. Next one is on me, and I hope that we can explore opportunities to agree on the best aria of these two, where of course the choise of “Don Giovani” is much rich than “The Marriage of Figaro”.
Thank you very much! I am really happy and so glad that we’ve met, we know each other and we deepen further cooperation between our two countries.
Happy Austrian National Day! Prost!
Last modified: October 25, 2022