Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani’s officially visited Germany on 15 September 2021. At the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) she talked about the future of the country. Among other topics, President Osmani pointed out that “Kosovo has shown to be the country that strongly rejected the influence of Russia and China, including their vaccine diplomacy. Kosovo’s future lies in the EU. We have never looked elsewhere, we will never look elsewhere.”
Commentator:
Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger Chairman of the Munich Security Conference
Welcome:
Ambassador Rolf Nikel Vice President, DGAP
Moderator:
Milan Nič Senior Fellow, Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies, DGAP
BACKGROUND In April 2021, President Osmani was elected by the Kosovan parliament on a reformist and anti-corruption platform. In her previous work as the chief of staff to Former President Fatmir Sejdiu (2008 to 2010), a five-time elected member of parliament, and the first female chairman of parliament, Osmani has been involved in Kosovo’s state-building from its very inception. As a 38-year-old, US-educated lawyer, she is also seen as a role model for many women in her mostly patriarchal society.
We discussed how President Osmani plans to tackle major domestic challenges, including corruption, and navigate next steps toward the further integration of Kosovo into international institutions – integration that is opposed by Serbia and its ally, Russia, but promoted by the United States and most EU countries. We will also explore how Kosovo wants to relate to its neighbors, improve its pandemic management, deal with a more assertive China, and energize relations with the EU, particularly with Germany after its upcoming federal elections.
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