| Kosovo, U.S. sign "inter-state" agreement |
| 15 September 2009 | 10:47
| Source:
Beta |
PRIŠTINA --
Kosovo President and Prime Minister Fatmir Sejdiu and Hashim Thaci have signed the province’s first inter-state agreement with the U.S.
Under the agreement, the U.S. undertakes to assist Kosovo’s development in several areas.
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Dell, who signed the agreement on Washington’s behalf, said that the U.S. remained committed to helping an “independent Kosovo” and that the common goal was building democracy, a multi-ethnic and prosperous state for all the ethnic communities that lived there.
“With this agreement, Kosovo and the U.S. reiterate their determination to work together to accomplish major goals towards enhancing economic prosperity in Kosovo,” said Dell.
He pledged U.S. assistance for the budget, the promotion of a public partnership, improving infrastructure and creating conditions for a competitive economy based on the free market.
Achieving these goals would be a challenge for Kosovo, said the ambassador, stressing that, with the U.S. government's help, a better future could be achieved.
Sejdiu said that it had been a special day and recalled the great assistance the U.S. had afforded Kosovo in many areas over the last ten years.
“This agreement elevates this to the level of state cooperation between the U.S. and Kosovo, not just through various U.S. agencies, as was the case up to now,” said the president.
“Assistance will be centered on comprehensive development, particularly in the fields of infrastructure in Kosovo, in the economy, traffic, education and in other domains, and, as such, will be a boost for the country’s accelerated development,” he explained.
Thaci said that the agreement reaffirmed the U.S.’s aspirations to support and help Kosovo, stressing that the money would be used in the most transparent manner.
Dell and Kosovo foreign policy chief Skender Hyseni also signed an agreement on further financial assistance to the tune of EUR 13mn in the field of strengthening the rule of law.
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