The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in his address at the end of the year, has counted the challenges and successes that have followed our country during the year 2024.

Kurti, in his address, said that now we are closing another year, it is a year that we have started well.

“Since January 1 of this year, we have started to enjoy the freedom we deserve – the liberalization of visas. The closeness we have with the countries of Western Europe has always existed, but now it has become concrete and functional. As a government, we are working to translate this proximity into other tangible rights,” said Kurti.

He said that our distance has not only shortened with Europe, but also with the world.
“Our passport is more powerful than ever before. The removal of visas from Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan, as well as the recognition of the passport of the Republic of Kosovo by two non-recognizing countries – Spain and Armenia – are great achievements. This is a new moment for our country. “We are ranked higher than ever before in the international passport index, and according to the Henley Index, this year we are among the 10 passports that have marked the greatest improvement in the last decade,” he said, Telegraph reports.

Kurti further said that “Kosovo also received a credit rating for the first time from the well-known American agency Fitch Ratings, which describes the country’s financial perspective as stable and serves as a strong seal for foreign investors.”

“This shows that the change in the country is also reflected in the international impression. We are a stronger country outside because we are stronger inside. This has been a year of respect for the law and strengthening of governance”.

The Prime Minister said that “this year, the registration and payment of electricity has started in the four municipalities in the north, for the first time after more than two decades”.

“Also, the process of converting driver’s licenses from illegal to official ones of the Republic of Kosovo has been successfully completed. Over 6,300 conversions have been registered, most of them from citizens of four municipalities in the north of Kosovo. This is proof that integration requires readiness, persistence and commitment – ​​not surrender from the start. And, our government has had a record amount and number of development projects, social programs and support measures for non-majority communities, without distinction”.

Kurti also said that “many of the illegal structures have already been closed, because they are illegal. The squares in the north are no longer places of fear, where residents are watched and blackmailed for their every move, but have become spaces that unite with all of Kosovo – a dynamic public sphere of a rapidly developing country”.

“This government continues to be for everyone. The breadth of a state is best seen in relation to those who depend most on its services. Pensions have increased by 20%. The minimum wage has increased after 13 years. Child benefits have increased and are continuing. Public health services have expanded, many for the first time, providing decent care for all. And starting from February 1, 2025, the prices of over 2,900 drugs will be up to ten times lower.”

He also said that the government he leads also supports those who contribute to building the country in all possible aspects. “Those who are full of ideas and innovation, and who are bringing about the creation of new companies and new jobs, and who, as a result, are a pillar of the country’s development.”

Kurti also mentioned the terrorist attack in the north.

“Even this year we experienced an attack on our state. And this year too, we have shown internal coordination that has enabled us to overcome the attacks. These attacks remind us of two truths: that there are individuals and groups with malicious intent towards us, but our determination always outweighs the malice of criminal groups and the states that support them. The steps we have taken, from strengthening and increasing the army, to the contract for the Ammunition Factory, are important actions for our future and our security, which is on a trajectory of strengthening”.

He said successes came with challenges.

“The problem with electricity supply, which we have faced in recent days, is not the result of a lack of electricity, but of high energy consumption, which is challenging the transmission network, in which for years and decades not invested enough. We are very sorry for the supply situation caused as a result of the network load. We have requested from the transmission and distribution network operators, KOSTT and KEDS, maximum commitment in solving the problems of technical breakdowns and load management. Despite the inherited problems, from privatization and not only, we are working, with everything we know and can, to address these. We are doing it through investments that have been missing for decades in capacity building and improving the energy infrastructure, which started precisely during our mandate”.

The head of the executive has said that “also, we are strengthening our energy security and independence: with the inauguration of the ALPEX exchange, the auctions for solar and wind energy, which we did this year for the first time, and with the Kompakt project with the Challenge Corporation of the Millennium, this investment is 236.7 million dollars”.

“We close this year with the commitment to leave this year’s challenges behind and move forward with even more strength and determination. And just as we started the year, we enter this change of weather together.

Happy New Year 2025, to all of you, dear citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, to your families and loved ones!”, said the Prime Minister of Kosovo. /Telegraph/