Gerxhaliu: As long as we talk about the war in Kosovo, foreign investors and citizens will continue to flee from this region

Instead of being a region that attracts investments, we are driving them away by engaging in daily politics instead of focusing on economic perspectives, Safet Gerxhaliu, former President of the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo, commented speaking about Prime Minister Albin Kurti's statements. On one hand, Kurti calls for foreign investors, but on the other, he mentions the risk of war in the region.

Gerxhaliu states that the entire Western Balkans is under some "dark agenda of the daily political press," adding that it is not just Kosovo's problem, but that of the entire Western Balkans.

"I would be the happiest today if I could tell you that we have a large number of foreign investors who have come to Kosovo and that we have the opportunity for export growth, but, simply put, few understand that the common denominator of all problems in these areas, including Kosovo, is political stability. As long as we have this discourse and such statements, and as long as there is no solution between Serbia and Kosovo, investors will certainly not come here; instead, they will flee," our interlocutor says.

On the other hand, he adds, that the fact that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has not yielded the expected results and that Kosovo is under so-called European measures, affects Kosovo's image very negatively.

"When you analyze these statements, 'there will be a war today, there will be a war tomorrow, this will happen, that will happen,' I believe that directly, indirectly, and peripherally affects the fact that foreign investors simply leave these areas, mostly from Kosovo. When you listen to the authorities, they will say that we have had more than 764 million foreign investments, but the problem is that nobody wants to tell the truth - that these are mostly investments from our diaspora who have bought apartments or real estate, and there is no growth in production, no significant exports from that. Therefore, I think the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is irreplaceable, I think everyone must know the truth - the sooner it is done and the sooner that agreement is reached, the sooner a new perspective will open up," Gerxhaliu says.

He assesses that there is a lack of dialogue in Kosovo, both between the Government and the opposition and between higher-level authorities and local self-government. As he says, there is no social pact that existed before, that addressed problems to some extent, and we must understand "that dialogue has no alternative."

"We talk about dialogue in both internal and external jargon. Among all these relevant actors in Kosovo, as well as cooperation with European Union countries, cooperation with the US... Agreements or some sort of alignment of measures is more than necessary, and unfortunately, there is none of that in Kosovo. I would be the happiest person today if I could list five foreign investors who have invested only five or 10 million each, who have created 20 or 30 jobs each, but there are none. Therefore, I think we must understand that we cannot live off a political agenda, politicizing everything. Economic development has no alternative, and it simply must be the priority of all priorities, which will not happen without political stability," Gerxhaliu believes.

When asked whether such statements by Prime Minister Kurti affected Serbia and the region, he assessed that "It takes two to tango," and that the discourse of such conversations has become very dangerous.

"Look at the current situation in Bosnia and also in Montenegro, and we have elections in Macedonia as well, and in that context, I believe that the way of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo affects other countries. Moreover, precisely because of such dialogues or conversations that are filled with nationalism, hatred, and somewhat devoid of hope for the people, the Western Balkans is emptying more and more every day. Perhaps one of the key reasons we have become countries people flee from. Another aspect is that people have realized that life doesn't have a second half, so no one wants to be a victim of anyone's or the interests of others. Therefore, I believe that dialogue must be the strongest weapon for bringing together common interests, to promote the Western Balkans as a region of the future," the analyst from Pristina assesses.

He recalls that there are many agreements such as the Berlin Process, and agreements from Vienna and Ohrid, but the problem lies in the fact that the implementation of these agreements somehow hinders a better life in these areas.

"In this context, I believe that politicians in these regions must understand one thing: Europe seeks the entire Western Balkans, not individual states. And then the question arises of how Europe will welcome the states of the Western Balkans if they have such problems among themselves. The sooner we realize the importance of solving these problems, the faster we will accelerate the step towards convergence, because ultimately, the fate of approaching Europe is not in the hands of Europe but in our hands, and for that, sacrifice, compromise, hard work, and the rule of law and justice are needed," Gerxhaliu says.