Physical Address
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday received Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara.
The meeting was closed to the press and no press conference was scheduled after the meeting.
Kosovo, home to a sizable centuries-old Turkish community, has close ties with Ankara. Türkiye was among the first countries to recognize the Balkan country’s independence in 2008. The country is also among major investors in the country, which sought to reshape its economy after the 1998-1999 war.
When NATO dispatched a peacekeeping force to the country, Türkiye joined the Kosovo Force (KFOR) of the alliance. Turkish military currently holds the rotating command of the force. Last year, Türkiye also deployed reserve troops to the country amid tensions between the ethnic Albanian majority and the local Serb minority in the north.
Kurti, elected to the post for the second time in 2021, maintained growing relations with Türkiye.
The Kosovo Parliament earlier this month approved the “Military Framework Agreement” signed between Türkiye and Kosovo on Jan. 29, with support from both the ruling and opposition benches. Agriculture Minister Faton Peci, who introduced the agreement from the rostrum of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, said it envisions cooperation in peacekeeping, humanitarian and counterterrorism operations, among other issues.
“This agreement envisions cooperation in the following areas: military training, industry and defense, military intelligence sharing, military medicine, counterterrorism and humanitarian operations, among others. I request that this bill be voted on so that this agreement can come into force under the provisions of the law of international agreements,” said Peci.
The agreement was approved in the 120-seat Parliament with the votes of 85 deputies from the ruling and opposition parties.
The “Military Framework Agreement” between Türkiye and Kosovo was signed by Türkiye’s National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Kosovo’s Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci in Ankara on Jan. 29.
