Kryeministri Kurti mori pjesë në pritjen e organizuar nga Ambasada e Mbretërisë së Belgjikës për Ditën e Mbretit

Kryeministri i Republikës së Kosovës, Albin Kurti, mbrëmë mori pjesë në pritjen e organizuar nga Ambasada e Mbretërisë së Belgjikës në Kosovë, me rastin e shënimit të festës së Ditës së Mbretit.

Duke e konsideruar këtë ditë si simbol të unitetit dhe historisë së Belgjikës, këtë vit shënohet përvjetori i 158-të i Ditës së Mbretit Belg.

Në adresimin e tij, kryeministri Kurti tha se kremten e kësaj feste të madhe për popullin belg, po e shënojmë duke theksuar miqësinë e madhe ndërmjet popujve tanë dhe duke shprehur mirënjohje për mbështetjen e Belgjikës ndaj Kosovës në ditët më të vështira të saj.

“Populli ynë nuk e ka harrur mbështetjen e Belgjikës në ditët më të vështira të tij, dhe lidhjet e miqësisë që krijuan atëherë, në viteve e ’80-ta dhe ’90-ta, vetëm sa janë forcuar në vitet dhe dekadat pas”, u shpreh kryeministri, teksa shtoi se mijëra shqiptarë dhe qytetarë tjerë nga Kosova janë shtetas belgë që janë pjesë aktive e institucioneve shtetërore dhe shoqërore të Belgjikës.

Kryeministri theksoi se lidhjet tona diplomatike janë më të ngushta se kurrë, tani që nga viti i kaluar kemi edhe ambasadorin me kompetenca të plota, Cuvelier por se pavarësisht kësaj duhet të punojnë edhe më shumë në përmirësimin e marrëdhënieve tregtare dhe ekonomike, duke u shprehur optimistë për të ardhmen e marrëdhënieve tona në të gjitha fushat, nga politika dhe ekonomia, deri te kultura dhe çështjet sociale.

Ai gjithashtu falënderoi Belgjikën për mbështetjen e fuqishme të vazhdueshme ndaj agjendës evropiane të Kosovës.

Në përfundim të fjalës së tij, kryeministri Kurti, uroi shtetin e Belgjikës dhe popullin belg në këtë festë shumë të rëndësishme të shënimit të ditës së Mbretit belg, duke iu dërguar urimet më të ngrohta Mbretit Philippe, Mbretëreshës Mathilde, Princeshës Elisabeth, Princit Gabriel, Princit Emmanuel dhe Princeshës Eleonore.

Fjala e plotë e kryeministrit Kurti në gjuhën angleze:

Your excellency Grégoire Cuvelier, Ambassador of Belgium in the Republic of Kosova,
Honorable ministers of the government, members of the Assemly,
Honorable ambassadors, heads of missions, charges d’affaires and representatives of embassies,
Honorable ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure and honor for me to address you on the occasion of the Belgian King’s Feast.

It is now 158 years that the King’s Feast is celebrated in Belgium as a tribute to the role and importance of the Belgian King as symbol of unity of the people and history of Belgium, which in too many ways is at the center of the history of Europe.

And, same as Belgians, we aim and progress towards becoming constitutional part of a free, democratic and united Europe. This message, today, is as important as it was in 1945 or 1999, as we fight against Russian aggression against Ukraine, which is, in reality, aggression against Europe and all that Europe stands for today – democracy, liberty, humanity.

It is in that spirit that we celebrate King’s Feast.

And, as we celebrate here, today, the majestic institution of the King of Belgians, we do it by underlining also the great friendship between our two peoples.

Our people have not forgotten Belgium’s support from our darkest days, and the bonds of friendship that were forged then, in 1980s and 1990s, have only been strengthened in years and decades after.

Today, thousands of Albanians and other Kosovars citizens are also Belgians, while many of our people have become an active part of Belgian state and social institutions. Our diaspora in Belgium has become a stone-solid-bridge that connects our countries and people. And over that bridge, we are now building even stronger bilateral relations.

In past several years, we have concluded half a dozen bilateral agreements, and are working on half a dozen more to be concluded soon. Now with Ambassador Cuvelier here and his office as fully fledged Embassy since last year, our diplomatic ties are closer than ever.

We still need to work on improving our trade and economic relations, as well as in few other fields, but work is ongoing and we are optimist about the future of our relations in all fields, from politics and economy, to culture and social affairs.

We are very grateful to Belgium for its consistent and unwavering support of our European agenda. After the active and insistent support for visa liberalization for Kosova’s citizens, which is, as you all well know, a great success, Belgium has been strong supporter of Kosova’s Council of Europe membership, as well as of European Union membership candidacy. We hope to see the same success in these processes same as with the visa free regime – and we hope to see that soon – much before the next King’s Feast!

In field of security, we are seeing progress as well. Soon, we will be welcoming back some Belgian troops as part of KFOR, which is important as we all know that challenges and threats we still face in security, especially in the northern part of our country.

Also, I am glad that we are making progress also in deepening of our bilateral relations in security and defense, as well. So democracies show solidarity in their security of their democracies as well.

All in all, a very bright picture, which I thing will only get even better in future.

As Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosova, I have been frequently welcomed in Belgium’s capital Brussels. And, even if my stay in Brussels was sometimes not for the reasons I would prefer, I always felt very warmly welcomed there.

Our Belgian friends can today take pride that their country is a founding member of EU and NATO, and Brussels is the capital of Euro-Atlantic world. But looking at Belgium we also see a country which for centuries was central political, economic and cultural entity of Europe. Looking at Belgium, we see our future as well.

As a country of free men and democratic values, Belgium was essential ally in our quest for independence, which came after a liberation struggle and war, and years of rebuilding after. Belgium was among the staunchest allies that supported us continuously, and among the countries that recognized Kosova’s independence soon after Declaration, without hesitation. As we still feel that support strongly, we can say we are lucky to have such a friend and ally.

Our Belgium friends can today take pride that their country is founding member of European Union and NATO and Brussels is the capital of Euro-Atlantic world. But looking at Belgium we also see a country which for centuries was central political, economic and cultural entity of Europe. Looking at Belgium we see our future as well.

On this note, and as we send the warmest wishes to King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Princess Eleonore, let us raise a glass to their health and prosperity, as well as excellent Kosovo-Belgian relations!

Cheers!
Sante!