Hoxha met separately with Peter Sørensen, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue; Fadi Hajli, acting Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean; and Tālis Linkaits, director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community.

The meetings were held on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, which Hoxha said provided valuable opportunities for exchanges with a range of stakeholders on issues of importance to Albania and the wider region.

Foreign Minister said the discussions centred on dialogue, stability and regional cooperation, as well as the need to accelerate the Western Balkans’ connectivity and integration with the European space.

In his meeting with Sørensen, Hoxha underlined the importance of maintaining a sustained, results-oriented dialogue capable of delivering concrete and tangible progress towards the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

He described progress in the dialogue as essential to advancing peace and stability in the region.

Talks with Hajli focused on strengthening Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and identifying opportunities to advance concrete projects in areas important for regional development and prosperity.

With Linkaits, Hoxha discussed connectivity, infrastructure and mobility as key drivers of a more integrated Western Balkans and closer links with the European market and economic space.

“Dialogue, connectivity and cooperation are three pillars of a more stable, integrated and European region,” Hoxha said.

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Sorensen held separate talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and newly appointed Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca.

“I visited Kosovo for productive discussions with Prime Minister Kurti and the newly appointed Foreign Minister Konjufca. We focused on advancing the normalisation of relations with Serbia, delivering on commitments, and ensuring stability and progress on the European path,” Sorensen wrote on social media platform X.

Following the meeting, Kurti said Kosovo remained committed to normalising relations with Serbia through mutual recognition.

Konjufca informed Sorensen that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora would lead the dialogue process launched in 2011 to normalise ties with Belgrade, although the Ministry did not specify whether Foreign Minister would personally head the talks.

Political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri told Radio Free Europe that transferring leadership of the dialogue to the Foreign Ministry could mark “new momentum,” but cautioned that progress would depend on the parties’ “readiness to compromise and be realistic.”

He said the dialogue should be the Kosovo government’s main project in the coming months and that, if confirmed as chief negotiator, Konjufca could bring new energy to the process. However, Muhaxhiri warned that Konjufca should not remain, as he put it, “in Kurti’s shadow,” arguing that such an approach would prolong what he described as the current “negative” state of affairs.

Kosovo and Serbia have held multiple rounds of EU-facilitated talks at chief negotiator level in recent years, but no high-level political meeting has taken place since September 2023.

The last such meeting was held days before an armed incident in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, in which a group of armed Serbs killed a Kosovo police officer. Kosovo has blamed Serbia for the attack, an accusation Belgrade denies.

More than a decade of EU-mediated dialogue has produced a series of agreements, though not all have been implemented.

In 2023, the parties agreed on the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation, also known as the Ohrid Agreement. Although the deal was not formally signed, the EU has said it is binding on both sides, but it has yet to be fully implemented.

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After meeting Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Sørensen said he hoped 2026 would bring advances in the dialogue that were not achieved last year.

“I look forward to seeing the Assembly constituted and a government formed. But as has been the case throughout 2025, regardless of this, we continue to work on the dialogue issues before us,” Sørensen told reporters.

“Of course, we hope that 2026 will deliver what 2025 did not, which is why I am starting the year with a working visit here and later this week in Belgrade,” he added.

The Danish diplomat said both Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have pledged to be ready to meet when the EU calls for a high-level dialogue session.

“What we will do is what the international community has asked of us in our role as facilitators of the dialogue: to ensure that both sides sit down and talk. We must find a way to make that happen,” Sørensen said.

Sørensen’s visit follows Kosovo’s snap parliamentary elections, in which the Vetëvendosje movement emerged first with more than 51% of the vote.

Following his meetings in Prishtina, Sorensen is due to travel to Belgrade for talks with Serbia’s leadership.

Kosovo and Serbia agreed to the EU-backed Basic Agreement and its Ohrid annex in 2023, but the deal has yet to be implemented.

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