Hiiraan Online
Thursday September 27, 2018
Kosovo First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Behgjet Pacolli and the Somali Forign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad at UN GA in New York
NEW YORK (HOL) – In 2010, Somalia became the 69th country to recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state, a good will gesture that Kosovo says its indebted for Somalia.
In 2008, the Republic of Kosovo which at the time had received 117 diplomatic recognitions as an independent state, had declared independence, despite a sharp anger by Serbia which initially rejected to recognize Kosovo which it considered as its province as a sovereign state.
However, Somalia, one of the founding members of the organization of Islamic Conference (IOC) has joined a list of dozens of countries including western countries that endorsed Kosovo’s independence.
It was a support that Kosovo needed most at the time and now says it’d pay back.
In one of the first and rare meetings between officials from the two countries, Kosovo’s foreign minister Behgjet Pacoll had one way or another to show his Somali counterpart Ahmed Isse Awad his country’s deep appreciation towards the Somali support.
“My country Kosovo owes a huge debt of gratitude' to Somalia for your support and recognition for our country to become a sovereign state,” Mr. Pacoli told his Somalia counterpart during a meeting at the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
“Therefore, Kosovo will open its Somalia embassy soon in the first goodwill gesture to pay back.” He noted.
Despite putting stiff resistance for calls by the international community to recognize Kosovo as an independent state, the Serbia government has begun to normalise relations with the Government of Kosovo in accordance with the Brussels Agreement.
2008’s Kosovo recognition by over a hundred countries was the culmination of years of deadly struggle by thousands of its men who fought for its independence in the 1990s.
Both Kosovo and Serbia have later became two EU member states after Kosovo agreed to settle with Serbia, a requirement for their admission into EU.