40 participants from North America, Mexico and Europe – in the “Transatlantic Network TN2020” conference

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The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, said that this conference, which is organized the British Council in Kosovo, the British Council in Washington DC and the British Embassy in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, is the first global conference of this kind to be held in Kosovo. “It is the first time that a group of 40 major leaders from North America, Mexico and other states that have not yet recognized Kosovo will meet in Kosovo,” informed Selimi.  

Arjeta Emra, Director of the British Council in Kosovo said that this conference is a continuation of conferences held last year as part of the “Kosovo talks EU” project. “This time we are bringing to Kosovo 40 participants from North America, Mexico and Europe with a special focus on the countries that have not yet recognized Kosovo. The topic of the conference will be “Empowering of the Balkans,” and the reason why we have chosen this topic is that we consider that currently the Balkans as a region has a new momentum, and is going through positive developments,” said Emra.

She informed that as part of the “Transatlantic Network TN2020,” Kosovo will welcome 40 participants who will discuss in four different sectors, as the participants come from media, business, government and civil society backgrounds.
 
“Selection of the participants has been a three-month process, and they have been selected through a process of applications and based on their background, so that they come prepared for the conference in Kosovo. During these three days they will meet with representatives of Kosovo institutions, including the Office of the Prime Minister, the MTI, media, civil society,” said Emra.

Answering media queries on the expected effects of this conference, Deputy Minister Selimi said that the last year’s strategy identified several reasons why Kosovo does not have a more advanced communication with the countries that have not recognized us, including the five EU-member states. “As part of this strategic review, we have proposed several steps to establish and advance the communication. This is one of the steps and throughout this year we will try to have continual and more frequent contacts with Athens, Nicosia, Bucharest, Bratislava and Madrid and with the entire civil spectrum of these countries, meaning not only in the diplomatic aspect,” said Selimi. 

The Deputy Minister further announced that part of this year’s project with the United Kingdom’s Embassy and the British Council is to organize for the first time events and conferences in these capital cities, so that representatives from the civil society, politics, and businesses in Kosovo go to these capitals and create new networks. “We hope that with many of such projects carried out last year and the ones taking place this year we will advance and facilitate a more favorable climate for recognition,” said Selimi.
 
The Director of the British Council, Arjeta Emra, said that a special advocacy fund has been set up for the first time this year. “Therefore, for example, if a journalist, a civil society representative in Kosovo, gets an invitation to participate in one of the states that have not recognized Kosovo, they can approach the MFA and the British Council and we can help them cover their expenditures,” said Emra.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), the “Transatlantic Network TN2020” Conference will start its works organized by the British Council in Kosovo, the British Council in Washington DC and the British Embassy in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo under the topic “Empowering in the Balkans.” 

The media are invited to participate in the opening session of the conference from at 09:00 to 10:15 on Tuesday, 27 Marcy 2012, at the "Hotel Emerald".