Es geht voran in Kosova

[Bloody]

Kosovo Police to receive salary increase in January

As of January of next year, base salaries of police officers in Kosovo will receive an increase. The new system of wages is presented by the Kosovo Police and Ministry of Internal Affairs, and it includes pay raises for police employees depending on their ranks. Increases are said to be from 20 t0 200 euros. The higher increase of 200 euros will include various experts in the field such as forensics. The lower increase of 20 euros for night shifts, and this will depend on the nights the officers are on duty.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, Zenun Pajaziti, said that this system of salary increase is foreseen by the 2010 draft, which has just been approved by the Assembly of Kosovo, and it includes an additional 3.5 million euros for the implementation of the new salary system. Minister Pajaziti has continued to add that if good police work is continued, increases will be continued.

Director of Kosovo Police, Sharma Ahmeti, has said that since the existence of the Kosovo Police, 1,254 police officers have left the field voluntarily due to low salary. The new wage system, Ahmeti has described, is a motivation to fight crime and other negative phenomena in society. The new salary is supported by the Kosovo Police Union.



New Kosova Report - Kosovo Police to receive salary increase in January


:thumbleft::thumbleft:

 

[Bloody]

More airlines to fly to Kosovo



On 1 December a new airline will begin flying from Kosovo. The newly established Tafa Air will begin serving Prishtina, Kosovo, and Tirana, Albania, airports tomorrow. The airline is leasing two Airbus A320 jets in high density configurations with fixed price points set at 30% of the day-before price of raditional carriers.

The airline will initially connect the two Albanian capitals with Berlin Neubrandenburg, Dortmund and Friedrichshafen airports with daily flights. Prishtina-Tirana route will also get two more daily flights in addition to the existing two served by the Tirana based low cost carrier BelleAir.

The airline told flightglobal.com that it also plans to lease two Ilyushin IL-76TD freighters "by the start of January" in order to operate charter cargo services from the two countries to mainly Middle Eastern destinations.

"Tafa Air aims to extend its network to include Austria and Switzerland, with services to Geneva due to launch next summer. It also aims to begin services to London," reports flightglobal.com.

Meanwhile Air Berlin which this month began serving Prishtina from several German and Swiss airports announced that by the end of March its passengers will be able to connect in Düsseldorf to US bound flights with an hour brake.

Prishtina Airport has also notified that Czech Airlines has put Prishtina in the close list of new markets it is considering entering.




New Kosova Report - More airlines to fly to Kosovo

 

[Bloody]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kosovo meets potential investors in Switzerland[/FONT]
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[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In a conference organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Switzerland on 26 November 2009, representatives of the Kosovo Government and the Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo have met potential Swiss investors and have invited them to invest in Kosovo.

Low taxes and a simple tax system, liberal trade regime, modern EU-compatible legislation, young and well-educated work force, etc, were some of the advantages mentioned by Kosovar representatives in the premises of the Kosovar Embassy in Bern.

"In a time of financial crisis, Kosovo is one of the few countries in Europe which is expected to have a 4% economic growth in 2009, according to IMF" said Lutfi Zharku, Kosovar Minister of Trade and Industry. With euro as its official currency and with an inflation level of about 2%, Kosovo offers a macroeconomic stability to foreign investors, concluded Zharku.

The Head of IPAK Office in Vienna, Kujtim Dobruna, presented detailed investment opportunities and advantages that Kosovo has to offer. The Vienna office of IPAK continues to offer free-of-charge services to potential investors and has a list of success stories to back up its claims.

The conference, organized under the auspices the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo in Switzerland, Naim Malaj, gathered Swiss potential investors, representatives of Swiss business support institutions and entrepreneurs of Kosovar Diaspora in Switzerland.



ECIKS - News and analysis about Kosovo Economy in English
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[Bloody]

Lithuanian and Kosovo Defence Officials Sign Cooperation Agreement




National Defence Rasa Jukneviciene met with the Minister for Kosovo Security Forces Fehmi Mujota.

During the meeting the Ministers agreed on priorities of further cooperation and on potential sectors of the Kosovo Security Forces to receive Lithuania's support. The meeting Ministers also remarked the noticeable advance in stabilisation of security situation in the Republic of Kosovo as well as in formation of democratic future institutions of the country on the basis of the variety of ethnic groups. The officials also stressed the success of the recent municipal elections the second tour of which are coming in December.

Minister of National Defence R. Jukneviciene highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in creation of security and good neighbourhood relations.

After the meeting ministerial representatives of both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation that covers development of bilateral relations in the fields of ensuring international security and stability, education and training, crisis management, international operations, emergency management, and others.

Commenting the agreement R. Jukneviciene ensured Minister F. Mujota that Lithuania will continue providing opportunities for Kosovar military representatives to study in military education institutions and will encourage involvement of other Baltic States into the cooperation.

Minister of Kosovo Security Forces thanked for the support and stressed bilateral cooperation: „We will continue developing relations between the two nations and institutions. The Memorandum of Understanding that we signed today is a great piece of news for people of the Balkan region and an opportunity to acquire from other countries including Lithuania," said the Minister of Kosovo Security Forces. „Lithuania is the first country I am visiting as a member of the Government of Kosovo and this agreement will deepen bilateral relations and step up cooperation."

After the meeting in the Ministry of National Defence the delegation of Kosovo left for the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to meet with Arvydas Anusauskas, Chairman of the Committee on National Security and Defence of the Seimas. Later in the agenda a meeting with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavicius is planned.

On December 1 F. Mujota will visit Gen. Jonas Zemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy and meet with Commandant Brig. Gen. Edvardas Mazeikis and will also take part in graduation and decoration ceremony of the Junior Staff Officer Course (Lithuanian Military Academy) that a Kosovar military representative has attended. One representative of the Kosovo Security Forces attends International English Language Course.

Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania recognised independence of the Republic of Kosovo - former province of Yugoslavia - in May 2008, Government of Lithuania launched diplomatic relations with Kosovo in the same year.

From 1999 for almost a decade troops of Lithuania have been taking part in KFOR operation in Kosovo in composition of joint Polish and Ukrainian Battalion POLUKRBAT. Lithuania terminated participation in KFOR in June 2009. Currently 5 Lithuanian military instructors take part in NATO Training Team-Kosovo (NTT-K). According to a schedule Lithuanian soldiers will be withdrawn from the mission before the beginning of 2010.




defence.professionals | defpro.com

 

[Bloody]

Low-cost Tafa Air launches flights from Albania, Kosovo to Germany Dec.1





Tafa Air, a new budget airline, launches flights from Albania and Kosovo to Germany on December 1.

The operator has two Airbus A320 jets to ply its daily routes to Berlin Neubrandenburg, Dortmund and Friedrichshafen.

The company later plans to fly to to Austria and Switzerland, with services to Geneva due next summer. Flights to London are also a future possibility, management said in a statement.

Tirana-based Tafa Air (Tafa Air) was set up by domestic construction entrepreneur Taf Tafa with backing from enterprises in Albania and Kosovo.




Balkans.com Business News : Low-cost Tafa Air launches flights from Albania, Kosovo to Germany Dec.1

 

[Bloody]

Sitel: Saudi Arabia to lobby for Kosovo recognition


Saudi Arabia promised to engage in the process of lobbying more countries to recognize the Kosovo, Pristina media reports, cited by Macedonian Sitel television. According to publications, quoting the foreign ministry, Kosovo has planned to open in the near future an Embassy in Riyadh.
The newspapers write Kosovo foreign minister Skender Hiseni, who pays first visit in Riyadh after Saudi Arabia recognized Kosovo, has met Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.



FOCUS Information Agency

 

[Bloody]

Saudi Arabia to encourage other Muslim countries to recognise Kosovo – ambassador





Saudi Arabia’s newly-accredited ambassador in Pristina, Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Abdulkarim, says that his country will engage other Muslim countries to recognise Kosovo as independent.

Al-Abdulkarim made the statement on December 22 2009, after presenting his credentials to Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu and meeting prime minister Hashim Thaci and foreign minister Skender Hyseni, local media reports said.

This is the third country to which Al-Abdulkarim is accredited. He is also Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Albania and to Macedonia.

His country hoped that there would be further recognitions of Kosovo in future, and his government would do its utmost to encourage bilateral relations, Al-Abdulkarim said.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, a move rejected as illegal by Belgrade, which has challenged it in the International Court of Justice. An opinion by the court, legally not binding, is expected to be issued in 2010.

Sixty-four UN member states, and all but five of the 27 European Union member states have recognised Kosovo as independent.




http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/12/23...slim-countries-to-recognise-kosovo-ambassador

 

[Bloody]

Kosovo and Albanian representatives signed Monday in Pristina an agreement on air space regulation.


Kosovo and Albanian representatives signed Monday in Pristina an agreement on air space regulation.
The agreement was signed by Albanian Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi and Kosovo Minister of Traffic and Telecommunicatons Fatmir limaj.

Cooperation with Albania, as a NATO member-state, is in line with NATO endeavors to open Kosovo's air space the best way, Limaj said.
This is another proof of the will of both Albanian governments, in Albania and in Kosovo, to cooperate in all sectors, Olldashi said.






Kosovo, Albania sign air space agreement :: emportall :: Business news from Serbia

 

[Dukagjin]

Vertrag sichert Kosovo-Handel

Staatssekretär Lopatka unterzeichnet Abkommen zum Investitionsschutz.


PRISHTINA/WIEN (p.m.). Wirtschaftsbeziehungen, die nicht auf Kriminalität beruhen, brauchen Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Der Kosovo, der demnächst den zweiten „Geburtstag“ als unabhängiger Staat begeht, ist das aktuellste Beispiel dafür – und Österreich jener Partner, der direkt davon profitiert.



Finanzstaatssekretär Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP) hat am Freitag in Prishtina mit dem kosovarischen Finanz- und Wirtschaftsminister Ahmet Shala ein Investitionsschutzabkommen unterzeichnet. Das Abkommen bietet Schutz vor Benachteiligung und entschädigungsloser Enteignung. Ein Diskriminierungsverbot ausländischer Investoren ist darin ebenso festgeschrieben wie ein Streitschlichtungsverfahren.

Damit werde der junge Staat zum Partner gemacht, sagte Lopatka zur „Presse“. Er sieht in dem Abkommen „ein Zeichen, dass es beide Seiten mit der guten Weiterentwicklung der bilateralen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen ernst meinen“. Was sich schon in Zahlen niederschlage: Während die österreichischen Exporte fast überall massiv eingebrochen seien, hätten jene in den Kosovo in den ersten zehn Monaten 2009 um 20 Prozent auf 43 Millionen Euro zugenommen – „im gesamten Jahr wurde sicher die 50-Millionen-Grenze gesprengt“.

Der Kosovo sei „in vielfacher Hinsicht in einer Sondersituation“, so Lopatka. Am wichtigsten sei der schnelle Aufbau der Strukturen. Als einen der wichtigsten Betreiber der „Österreich-Connection“ bezeichnet er Vizepremier Hajredin Kuqi, der das Jus-Studium in Graz abgeschlossen und dort dissertiert hat.

("Die Presse", Print-Ausgabe, 23.01.2010)

 

[Dukagjin]

Kosova e Austria, me marrëveshje për mbrojtjen e investimeve

Zyrtarë të qeverisë së Kosovës nënshkruan sot një marrëveshje me zyrtarët e Austrisë për mbrojtjen e investimeve....
Postuar: 12:53:02 / 22.01.2010


Ministri i tregtisë dhje Industrisë, Lutfi Zharku tha se kjo marrëveshje është shumë e rëndësishme, si për investitorët austriakë të cilët tashmë kanë investuar në Kosovë, por edhe tërheqjen e investitorëve të rinj.
Sekretari i Shtetit të Austrisë, Reinhold Lopatka, tha se Kosova dhe Austria do të vazhdojnë të bashkëpunojnë më shumë në të ardhmen dhe paralajmëroi investime në shumë sektorë, veçmas atë të bankave dhe kompanive të sigurimeve. Kjo është marrëveshja e parë e Kosovës me një vend të BE-së.