Representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, respectively from the Cabinet of the Minister, the Department of Trade and the Kosovo Investment and Enterprise and Support Agency (KIESA), held a virtual meeting with the contact point of the EFTA Secretariat and the Director of the Trade Relations Division within EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
This meeting comes as a result of signing the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Republic of Kosovo and the EFTA countries, at the end of 2018 in Geneva, as well as the initiation of negotiations for signing the Free Trade Agreement.
The purpose of today's meeting was to coordinate the parties regarding the finalization of the negotiation modality document and the coordination of agendas for potential dates for the start of negotiations. Given the importance of this agreement for Kosovo, it was agreed that the first round of negotiations should begin as soon as possible, potentially in June or at the latest at the end of August 2022.
It is of a great importance for Kosovo to finalise this agreement as soon as possible, as trade exchanges with EFTA countries, especially Switzerland and Norway, are constantly increasing with a positive trade balance. The signing of this agreement, in addition to its economic importance, is politically important for Kosovo, in relation to other trading partners and foreign investors.