(L-R) Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation & Humanitarian Affairs; Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, President of Kosovo;
Credit: MAE
Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Xavier Bettel, paid a working visit to Kosovo on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 November 2024.
As reported by Luxembourg's Foreign Ministry, Minister Bettel had bilateral meetings in Pristina with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the Speaker of the Assembly (parliament), Konjufca Glauk, Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi Besnik, Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, former President Atifete Jahjaga and the Mayor of Pristina, Përparim Rama.
The working visit allowed Minister Bettel to participate in the 9th Bilateral Commission between Kosovo and Luxembourg and to take stock of the "positive results" achieved in the framework of the cooperation partnership between the two countries.
The bilateral exchanges also helped deepen the "excellent" bilateral relations and the long-standing partnership between Luxembourg and Kosovo, noted the ministry.
In this context, Minister Bettel reaffirmed Luxembourg's "full support" for Kosovo's European perspective and stressed the importance of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue for stability in the Western Balkans.
He also visited several projects of the Luxembourg Development Cooperation and attended a reception in the new premises of the Luxembourg Embassy in Pristina. The ministry recalled that Kosovo, as a long-standing partner of the Luxembourg Development Cooperation, benefits from programmes in the fields of health, education, civil society and, more recently, sustainable and inclusive growth, in particular by working with the private sector.
In this regard, Minister Bettel said he was touched by the testimonies and the positive impact of these various projects on the ground. In particular, he visited the following projects supported by Luxembourg:
- a UNICEF primary care clinic, which supports vulnerable families, including mothers and their children, in the area of early childhood, including through health and preschool education services;
- the site of the future Information and Communication Technology Centre of Competence, as well as the Innovation Centre Kosovo;
- a UNDP project on creative industries, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship;
- the Jahgaga Foundation, a civil society partner working on women's empowerment and strengthening human rights in Kosovo;
- the establishment of an electronic voting system in the Kosovo parliament.
