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42 I Southeast Europe bne October 2020
Serbia and Kosovo sign “historic” economic deal in Washington
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
Serbia and Kosovo reached
a “historic” agreement on normalisation of their economic relations on September 4 in Washington, White House officials announced.
The deal is of great importance as it
is seen as another step towards full normalisation of the relations between the two sides. Belgrade and Pristina, which are engaged in an EU-mediated normalisation dialogue, were invited
by the White House for a meeting that was mainly focused on economic issues. Their delegations were led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovan Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti.
The economic deal was signed in the presence of US President Donald Trump.
"President Donald Trump has announced that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to economic normalisation. Another historic agreement reached by the president,
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to make the world more peaceful and prosperous place,” President Trump's aide Judd Deere said in a tweet.
Following the ceremony, Vucic said that Serbia signed a bilateral deal with the US on economic cooperation with Pristina.
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali, who was part of the delegation to Washington, said that the agreement
on the normalisation of economic relations with Pristina is “a huge success in the negotiations” and will contribute to faster integration and economic development of the entire region.
“This is extraordinary news for the state of Kosovo. This support from the White House is essential to
our journey towards the EU, the UN and other international organisations"
"We have signed a bilateral agreement with the US for economic cooperation with Pristina, not a trilateral one, in which Pristina is not mentioned as
a subject of international law,” Vucic was cited by local media.
“We got the maximum we could, especially on issues that are important for the standard of living in the entire region of the Western Balkans,” Mali said, according to the government statement.
