The Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo H.E. Mr Lirim Greiçevci and Mrs Lindita Greiçevci celebrating their first National Day as the new Kosovo´s ambassador to the Netherlands.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
It is for this reason that the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo H.E. Mr Lirim Greiçevci and Mrs Lindita Greiçevci host a reception in The Hague on the bright afternoon of 19 February 2019.
Among those who came to felicitate Ambassador Lirim Greiçevci were representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Municipality of the City of The Hague, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, the Kosovo diaspora and friends.
In his welcome remarks, H.E. Mr Lirim Greiçevci expressed his gratitude towards all who attended his early afternoon reception. An eloquent Ambassador Greiçevci stated “We are always happy to see so many friends from across the world.
Greiçevci continued; 11 years ago, on 17 February 2008, our democratically elected leaders, declared Kosovo a sovereign state.
Independence was never some fancy label for us. Independence was and is the only way to protect our hard won freedom.
And freedom came at a great cost, after decades of oppression, a terrible war, ten thousand lives lost, close to a million refugees deported from their homes, hundred of thousands of homes destroyed and close to two thousand persons still missing today.
In many ways, we still feel the legacy of the past.
We take huge pride in the fact that our independence bears the stamp of the UN special envoy and Nobel Peace prize winner, former Finnish president Marti Ahtisaari, whose comprehensive plan for Kosovo’s status contains some of the most generous provisions for minority rights anywhere in Europe, and which we have since embraced and incorporated fully into our Constitution and our laws.
In 2005, President Ahtisaari was tasked by the UN Security Council to recommend a solution for Kosovo’s status which had remained undefined since 1999 when NATO had intervened to save Kosovo. After two years of difficult negotiations, our leaders accepted his plan, Serbia rejected it.
President Ahtisaari took his plan along with his recommendation that Kosovo became an independent state, to the United Nations. His plan was never tabled at the Security Council as Russia as a permanent member threatened to veto it.
Our leaders were left but with one choice: to declare independence in Parliament. We are extremely grateful that the declaration of independence has been recognized to date by the majority of world nations. We thank each and every country who recognized but we always encourage others to do so.
Today I am proud to say that Kosovo is a multiethnic democracy where all its communities are represented at all levels of government playing a full part in Kosovo’s institutions and society. Our strategic goal is to join the EU and NATO.
Of course, none of this would have possible without the crucial role played by the international community. As Kosovo, we put all of our trust in the international community from the very beginning and they in turn believed in us and our future. I believe it is safe to say that Kosovo is the world’s most successful project in state building in recent history.
Since 2011, under the EU auspices, we have engaged in a Dialogue with Serbia to normalize relations. Despite the absence of mutual recognition or any expression of regret about the past by Serbia, we have made considerable progress in our relations.
The breakthrough by Greece and North Macedonia, our next door neighbour, in their relations, has sent positive vibes in our region and will give a boost to a future agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. And we look forward to another NATO member in our neighbourhood soon.
In the near future, we expect to embark on a final phase of negotiations to fully normalize relations so that both countries can progress towards the EU. It is something we owe to future generations. We have to leave the past behind and look to a brighter future in our relations. The EU will be key to our success.
Of course, among our key supporters in our journey has been the Netherlands. The Dutch government and the Dutch people have been with us every step of the way to help us in our transition to freedom, democracy, rule of law, market economy.
The Netherlands was among the first to countries to recognize Kosovo. This year we will be marking the 10th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
Kosovo may be relatively small in size and population but it is a powerhouse of talent in music, culture, sports. We’re proud of our world popstars: Rita Ora, Dua Lipa, Era Istrefi. By the way, Dua Lipa won two Grammy awards less than two weeks ago.
Era Istrefi sang at the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. And if some of you don’t know who they are, and I suspect many of you do not, how shall I put diplomatically, and if you are not of the right age group, just ask you children. They will tell you all about them.
Our national pride in sports, judoka Majlinda Kelmendi, won a gold medal in the Olympic games in Rio where Kosovo participated for the first time.
It is also safe to say that we furnish several European national football teams with top footballers: Xhaka, Shaqiri, Behrami, Zeneli, to name just a few, are household names in Europe.
Our filmmakers made into the finals in the Oscars in 2016 and won a BAFTA award in 2017 with short films.
So, we look forward to a future with optimism and confidence and we count on your friendship and support as ever.
And thank you again to all of you for joining us today and may we all raise our glasses to Kosovo, the friendship between Kosovo and the Netherlands and to the wellbeing of Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Màxima.
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