A group of visitors from the United States, the Isle of Man and Bulgaria were received at the Prime Minister’s office by the acting head of Kosovo’s executive, Albin Kurti. They are in the country to take part in “Ethno Tour 2026”, an initiative led by Janet Reineck.

In a post on social media, Kurti noted that the guests come from diverse professional fields, including environmental engineering, urban planning, healthcare, education, and information and communication technology.

The conversation during the meeting covered a wide range of topics, from fundamental human rights to culture, the education system, policies for the elderly, agriculture and economic development.

“We discussed together human rights, culture, education, services for the elderly, agriculture and the economy, among other things. As always when I meet my dear friend Janet, we also talked this time about advancements in Kosovo and our cherished diaspora, which constitutes our great embassy, constantly returning to the homeland and promoting it,” he said.

The acting prime minister stressed that the bond between Albanians and Americans has been extraordinary, not limited to the end of the last century or the period of the liberation war. According to him, its roots go back to the arrival of the first waves of Albanian emigrants to America in the 19th century.

“This historical reality led to the creation of the Pan-Albanian Federation of America ‘Vatra’ in Boston in 1912. From the support of President Woodrow Wilson to the contribution of the distinguished diaspora priest and intellectual, Fan Noli, our community abroad has always had a decisive weight in strengthening and safeguarding this invaluable relationship,” Kurti added.

At the end of his post, Kurti once again welcomed the group to Kosovo.

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Present at the discussion, the General Director of Customs, Agron Llugaliu, listened to the concerns of companies and pledged that they would be addressed according to the legislation in force and within a short time.

Regarding trade relations with Albania, he announced that a joint customs office is in the process of being established, which would simplify and speed up exports between the two countries.

He emphasized that this initiative would contribute to faster resolution of obstacles and to increasing the volume of bilateral trade exchanges.

Llugaliu explained that the plan is for both sides to work together to process all exports at a single point, which would allow immediate addressing of any problem. He assessed that this would have a noticeable impact both on shipments from Kosovo to Albania and on those from Albania to Kosovo. According to him, some steps have already been taken and the aim is to make them concrete, but the realization of other projects requires securing the necessary funding and support.

The chairman of DHTIK, Skënder Krasniqi, opened the session by referring to cooperation with Albania, the facilitating measures taken, and the challenges that businesses face in exports to other countries.

He also stressed the necessity of swiftly forming institutions so that issues hindering local producers can be addressed.

Krasniqi recalled that one of the Chamber’s constant demands, repeated over the last ten years, concerns the payment of VAT at the time of collection and not of invoicing, a practice that, according to him, constitutes a major obstacle for the production sector. He added that there are a number of other problems that require urgent intervention to be resolved.

During the meeting, customs procedures, trade facilitation, and the daily challenges faced by entrepreneurs were also discussed.

Businesses also expressed their concern about the high excise duty applied to some imported raw materials. Director Llugaliu confirmed that these cases will also be examined carefully.

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According to her, the discussions also included cooperation on the Vlora power plant project, supplied with gas from the US, through which Kosovo and Albania will share electricity capacities in line with the needs of both countries.

“Cooperation on the Vlora power plant project (supplied with liquefied natural gas from the US), in accordance with the 2022 agreement, with the aim of enabling Kosovo and Albania to share electricity capacities in line with the needs of both countries; the development and expansion of our joint electricity exchange, the Albanian Power Exchange (ALPEX), where trading volume is increasing year after year; the new 400 kV Prizren–Fierza transmission line. We agreed to continue close institutional and technical coordination,” she wrote on Facebook.

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