Analysts: Kosovo's diplomacy achieved nothing in 2023

Kosovo officials in 2023 held hundreds of meetings with international representatives, but the outcomes of these encounters reflect a failure in diplomacy, Ekonomia Online reports.

The portal notes that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani had around 200 meetings and discussions with heads of states and governments throughout the year, along with additional meetings with representatives of international organizations.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Assembly President Glauk Konjufca also had meetings with foreign officials during 2023, but experts on Kosovo's political landscape evaluate all these encounters as unsuccessful, as reported by Ekonomia Online.

University professor Dritero Arifi suggests that Kosovo needs promotion, especially after the measures imposed by the EU. According to him, there have been no concrete results on the international stage this year, and there have been no recognitions or memberships in international organizations.

Arifi stated that the visits of Kosovo leaders abroad had not produced anything except a significant lack of prosperity and a vision for a normal state, adding that the results were zero.

"Visits are good and positive for promoting a country, especially a small one like Kosovo, but it depends on the indicators we use to measure these visits and the results they give. Looking only at 2023, in reality, we don't have any major economic giants coming to Kosovo precisely because of these visits. We have no new recognitions this year, and worst of all, no membership in any important international organization. If we look at these three aspects, these visits were only for travel, without effect, because we are still under the EU's restrictive measures," Arifi said.

Arifi says that if we exclude the visits of the President of Kosovo, visits by all other officials have not brought anything positive except demands for Kosovo to implement the CSM.

Analyst Bekim Kabashi notes that international institutions only accept Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani.

Kabashi highlights the importance of the visit to Turkey because Kosovo secured the purchase of drones to "strengthen its position," especially considering the war in Ukraine.

"Of course, it is useful and in the interest of the state when heads of state have visits abroad and meet with colleagues or visit important institutions that are beneficial to Kosovo's interests. However, at this moment, regardless of these visits, I don't think Kosovo, except for the president of the country, is accepted by various international institutions. We got something positive from the visits to Turkey by the President of Kosovo. We also saw that there is some kind of report, which is also a historical report on good relations between Kosovo and Turkey from a military perspective. But we don't have any other visits that we can look back on and say were successful for Kosovo's interests," Kabashi emphasized.