TIRANA, July  6 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama is making a two-day official visit to the countries of the Western Balkans in the framework of the Berlin Process.

On Thursday afternoon Prime Minister Rama is in Pristina where he was received in a meeting by President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said after the meeting that the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani held a useful meeting and open conversation on the topics of the visit, the Berlin Summit in Tirana and the NATO Summit, as well as common concerns.

“Pristina, President’s office – With Vjosa Osmani, President of the Republic of Kosovo, a useful meeting and open conversation on the topics of the visit, the Berlin Summit in Tirana & the NATO Summit, as well as common concerns,” Rama wrote in a post on social media.

According to a press release from the Kosovo President’s office, the meeting focused on the NATO summit, which will be held in July in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the Berlin Process summit, which will be held in Tirana in October this year as well as the current situation in Kosovo and the region, in relation to the latest security developments in the north of the country.

President Osmani reconfirmed Kosovo’s commitment to tackle the common challenges facing the region together with the Euro-Atlantic partners.

Regarding the security situation in the north, President Osmani emphasized that Kosovo has demonstrated the will for de-escalation, offering the conduct of fresh elections in the north of the country, in accordance with the legal framework of Kosovo. She emphasized that those who attacked NATO, journalists, Kosovo police and citizens in the north should be held to account, because impunity risks fuelling more violence.

As to the Summit of the Berlin Process, the two underlined the necessity of signing into law all the agreements reached so far in this process, especially those pertaining to freedom of movement, as well as discussed the possibility of increasing the projects and funding for the countries of the Western Balkans within the Berlin Process.

With regard to the NATO Summit, the President thanked Albania for its continuous support for Kosovo’s membership in this alliance, while reiterating the importance of moving ahead with membership in the Peace Partnership, as a step towards full membership in NATO, which would simultaneously contribute to long-term stability in the region.

President Osmani and Prime Minister Rama agreed to continue coordination to the benefit of the citizens of our two countries as well as regional peace and security.

Earlier today Prime Minister Rama was also in Skopje, where he was hosted by the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, with whom he also gave a joint press conference.

Meanwhile, this afternoon, Prime Minister Rama is also set to meet with the Parliament Speaker Glauk Konjufca and Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

The Prime Minister’s tour of meetings will continue tomorrow morning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he is scheduled to meet with the head of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Kristo, to continue in Montenegro, where he will be received by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and President Jakov Milatovic.

The Prime Minister will wrap up the Balkan tour with a visit to Serbia, where he will meet with President Aleksandar Vucic.

A few days ago, Prime Minister Edi Rama said from Ulcinj that the “Open Balkan” has fulfilled the mission for which it was established, to push forward the Berlin Process and that the leaders of the Balkans should now focus on this initiative.

On October 16 of this year, Tirana will host the next summit of the Berlin Process.

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