FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Kosovo and Albania have not made any progress in recent years towards deepening political and economic cooperation. Analysts in Pristina and Tirana have concluded that relations between the two states have regressed in both areas and have held the leaders of both countries responsible for this.
Albanian analyst Ben Andoni said that, in political terms, the approach of the acting prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and that of Albania, Edi Rama, has led both countries to drift further apart each year.
"The narrative of Mr. Rama and Mr. Kurti is increasingly distancing them from each other. It seems that in other areas, Kosovo and Albania are moving away from each other. If it weren't for art, if it weren't for culture and sports, I think we would be far apart with Kosovo... The culprits for this, if that were the most appropriate word, I think are the two current prime ministers of Kosovo and Albania, " Andoni emphasized, reports KOHA.
Even in economic terms, Kosovo and Albania have been better off last year than this year.
In the first six months of last year, Albania was Kosovo's main partner for the import and export of goods from CEFTA countries.
This year, from January to June, the country with which Kosovo has the most trade cooperation for import and export is North Macedonia.
According to data from the Chamber of Commerce (OKC), for this period of time, Kosovo has imported over 156 million euros worth of goods from Albania. However, not even half of this amount is the value of Kosovar products that have gone to the Albanian market. Kosovo has exported goods to Albania worth around 66 million euros.
According to economist Fidan Qerimi, the trend of cooperation is low for the potential that both countries have.
He said that the barriers created by politics have also influenced the non-implementation of trade exchange agreements.
"We have an extremely large number of signed agreements between Kosovo and Albania, but they are not being implemented. There is also a potential possibility of a common market between Albania and Kosovo, which we are declaratively very much proclaiming, but which we have not taken any steps towards unifying the market ," Qerimi said, reports KOHA.
It has been three years since the governments of Kosovo and Albania have held any joint meetings, during which they had previously reached a series of agreements.
The last such meeting was held in 2022. The one organized for 2023 in Gjakova was not held, as the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, refused to participate, arguing that he had aligned himself with the European Union (EU) against the actions of the Kosovo Government in the north.
Lini një Përgjigje