Honourable Mr. Nura, Chairman of the Albanian Global Business Network,
Honourable Mr. Jusaj, President of the Kosovo-German-Swiss Business Community,
Honourable representatives of central and local institutions,
Heads of state mechanisms and mayors,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Thank you very much for this invitation to be with you tonight. I know that you have come from all over the world, from Berlin, Geneva and Helsinki, but also from Dallas and Dubai, and that you have gathered to build new bridges and deepen our cooperation.
You belong to the generation that knows both worlds. You have built a life abroad, mainly in the West, in Germany, Switzerland, the United States of America, and other countries. You learned the language, integrated yourselves, and work according to the standards and discipline those societies require. And despite all this, you have not forgotten where you come from.
Our diaspora is not a statistical phenomenon. It is a gigantic economic force. From Germany alone, the Kosovo diaspora sent more than 546 million euros in remittances. If we add those from Switzerland, Austria and other countries, we reach approximately 1.5 billion euros in remittances and transfers to our country, which amounts to around one-seventh of the Gross Domestic Product. It is capital earned through work and invested with trust. It is private capital that finances homes, education, and businesses. Without any bureaucracy, without any official call. It comes as a result of will and dedication to the homeland. Therefore, on behalf of the Government of Kosovo, on behalf of our democratic and parliamentary Republic, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this immeasurable contribution that you have given and continue to give.
However, those remittances are only the beginning. What we see here today, and what this conference makes visible, is that the diaspora, businesses, and Albanians are moving from the phase of “sending” to the phase of “building.” From being social actors for survival to becoming economic factors for development. And you yourselves are the architects of this bridge.
Today’s Kosovo is no longer the Kosovo of the year 2000. For comparison, the Gross Domestic Product per capita in Kosovo today is six times higher than in 2000, the first year after liberation, and three times higher than in 2008, eighteen years ago when Kosovo declared independence.
And as we speak, economic growth remains stable. Around 4% year after year. If we compare business turnover with the first pre-pandemic year, 2019, that is six years ago, business turnover has doubled, while compared to four years ago, corporate profits have increased by two and a half times. And we know this from the Kosovo Tax Administration, where we see contributions increasing because profits are increasing.
But Kosovo is also attracting more and more capital. In addition to exports doubling, foreign direct investment has also doubled, from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Türkiye, Slovenia, the United States of America, and others. Trust is not merely being discussed. It is being demonstrated every single day.
The legal framework in Kosovo is clear: the tax system is simple. Corporate tax is only 10%, consequently income tax is also only 10%, there is no tax on dividends, no tax on raw materials, no tax on production machinery, and no tax on exports. The euro is the official currency, and the Law on Sustainable Investments facilitates procedures and gives priority to strategic investments.
In addition to the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union and the CEFTA agreement, where we have now removed UNMIK and participate there as Kosovo, we also have the EFTA agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which gives our exporters access to important European markets free of tariffs, not only for the export of goods but also for the export of services.
We should mention that in the coming mandate our government will focus first and foremost on railways. There can be no rapid economic development without railways. We are planning four main railways: the first is the Prishtina–Durrës railway, which includes the Gjakova–Shkodër segment and connects the Dry Port of Prishtina with the new Port of Durrës, through which 50% of Kosovo’s imports arrive. Another railway is the so-called Corridor X, from Hani i Elezit to Fushë Kosova, Mitrovica and up to Leshak. The third is the railway we will build linking Prizren, Ferizaj, Gjilan and Bujanovac, which is an extremely important railway. And the fourth, which our compatriots particularly desire, is the modern railway segment that will connect the Adem Jashari International Airport with the capital city, Prishtina.
Therefore, the next mandate will be the mandate of railways.
Secondly, dams, stadiums, Brezovica, and the Dukagjini Tourist Centre. Altogether around 1 billion euros.
We will build five dams in Kosovo because we need to retain water. Kosovo is like an upside-down plate from which waters rapidly flow out of the country. These five dams have completed feasibility studies: Kuçica in Skenderaj, Pollata in Podujevë, Desivojca in Kamenica, Dragaqina in Suharekë, and Firaja in Shtërpcë. Thus, five new dams, and we will also conduct feasibility studies for four additional dams.
Twenty stadiums for the Mediterranean Games and half a billion euros in public-private partnership investment for Brezovica, as well as for the Dukagjini Tourist Centre.
We will invest 1 billion euros in the army, defence, and security, where the military industry will be the key focus, particularly ammunition production at the Jahoc factory in Gjakova, as well as drone production.
By the end of this year, we will have the first “Made in Kosova” bullets for the Kosovo Security Force.
We will begin the gasification of lignite. We have vast coal reserves, from 10 to 14 billion tonnes. But before we gasify coal and before we enter mining investments, we will invest 50 million euros in scanning and geological radiography to determine how rich we are and where we are richest. Therefore, it is essential that we orient ourselves toward the gasification of lignite, namely coal, and especially investments in mines, not only in Trepça.
And I call on you that at conferences like this, beyond networking, you should be as concrete as possible with one another, while the ministries of the Government of the Republic will be available for every need you may have concerning economic cooperation, increasing trade exchange, and economic investments.
The sector that has grown significantly is Information and Communication Technology. It accounts for 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. We have 1,500 companies with 20,000 engineers and software developers. Therefore, we need now to create the ecosystem around this sector, and in the next mandate we will also have our digital currency as well as an Information and Communication Technology Tower.
You can transfer part of your businesses to companies in Kosovo. This is already happening, and we have learned it from you yourselves. For example, your companies’ accounting and marketing can be done from Kosovo. And for comparison, agriculture accounts for 7% of the Gross Domestic Product, while the Information and Communication Technology sector accounts for 6%.
You have seen that even prestigious newspapers such as Bloomberg, for example, have written about Kosovo’s remarkable and rapid growth in this aspect.
We will have 14 industrial parks with suitable infrastructure for businesses that you may expand or establish anew.
Investing in Kosovo not only brings financial benefits, it also brings the inner satisfaction for each of you who invest in your beloved homeland.
And unlike three decades ago, we no longer tell our compatriots to sacrifice in order to contribute, but rather to invest in order to benefit. And this is especially connected with the next generation, with your children. It is important that your children come to Kosovo, work for institutions in Kosovo, maintain and lead private businesses, and in this way the second and third generation of our diaspora become even more connected than previous generations.
Kosovo is no longer the same as it was ten years ago, and it will not be the same ten years from now either.
As Prime Minister, I invite all of you to be part of this great and shared transformation.
I wish you health, ever greater success in the future, and count on us. Thank you!