President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga, received today at a meeting the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, who is visiting our country on an official state visit, upon an invitation by President Jahjaga.
After the state ceremony reception, held at the “Ibrahim Rugova” Square, President Jahjaga and King Abdullah II held a meeting at the Presidential Cabinet.
President Jahjaga awarded King Abdullah II the Order of Independence Honour, awarded for exceptional support to the independence of Kosovo and its international recognition.
After the meeting, President Jahjaga and King Abdullah II issued a media statement, which we are publishing below:
President Jahjaga: It gives me an immense pleasure to welcome you to the Republic of Kosovo. It is an honor to have you here today and to have this opportunity to thank you in person and in Kosovo for the support and the partnership you have extended to Kosovo in consolidating our statehood, in forging new friendships and in exploring new avenues of bilateral cooperation.
Your Majesty, Kosovo’s path to peace and independence has been long. We have had a difficult past, but we also have a beautiful and inspiring story of how we came together as a nation to build our own state, to write our own story. When we first met several years ago, you shared with me your memories of Kosovo, of a land ravaged by war. Your country dedicated troops to help cement the peace in Kosovo. You believed in our revival and our vision to create an independent state, becoming one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo as a country. We shall always be grateful.
Today we stand proud as a young nation, rebuilding our society, committed to further our values of freedom and democracy, of peace and tolerance.These are values that we promote and we look to Jordan as an ally in this.As the President of Kosovo I am outraged by the brutal terrorist attacks in Paris and saddened by the loss of so many innocent lives. We have all been affected, because this was not an attack on Paris. This was an attack on all of the freedom-loving countries around the world. On values and liberties that are fundamental to humanity and fundamental to the society that I represent.
Defeating these terrorist networks is a challenge that cannot be met by one nation alone. It is imperative that we dedicate to it the attention and the necessary resources to destroy it. To permanently defeat it.
Kosovo will continue to show this determination at home. We will not be a safe haven or a transit route for these elements, and we will continue to work with our partners and international security organizations to further address this matter.
Your Majesty,
As I have said in our joint meeting today, Kosovo is on the right side of history.
We will guard these values and in light of the dark forces that want to encroach these hard-won freedoms and liberties. We will stand united to defend them.
Once more, Your Majesty, My dear friend, welcome to the Republic of Kosovo!
King Abdullah II: Madam President, Thank you for your very kind words, it’s a delight for me and for my delegation to be back here in Kosovo, to see the changes that this country has undertaken, and I am very proud to be a witness of the achievements that you and your people have achieved in such a short period of time. It is also a pleasure for me to be in this country that plays such an important role in stability in this region, and many of us around the world will continue to support Kosovo and its rights for the future of its people and the important role it continues to play. So, you can always count on my support and the support of my country in that role. It is also important, because this is a country in Europe with a Muslim majority, when both Europe and Islam is attacked from terrorists. Kosovo reflects the best values of tolerance and coexistence.
These are the values we must build on and promote to counter the barbarism committed in Paris last week. The atrocious Paris attack shows that scourge of terrorism can strike anywhere and at any time. Groups such as DASH expose themselves daily as savage outlaws of religion, devoid of humanity and respecting no laws and no boundaries. As I told Her Excellency, we are facing a third world war against humanity, and this is what brings us all together. This is a war as I have said repeatedly, within Islam, and unfortunately, over 100.000 Muslims have been murdered by DASH alone over the past two years, and that doesn’t also count for the atrocities that the likeminded groups have also done in Africa and Asia. So therefore we must act fast and holistically, to tackle and respond to the interconnected threats whether it is in this region, Africa, Asia or in Europe. We look to your country as a key partner in this joint response to extremism and extremist threats that face the globe.
We are proud of our relationship and I believe that this is a relationship which will continue to strengthen over the coming years, and we are looking forward in our continued meetings today to see how do we bring our peoples closer together and how do we strengthen the ties between our two very important nations.
We have so much in common, between our peoples that I look at a very bright and promising future between our two nations. I am delighted to be back here and to enjoy this hospitality that I have been shown by yourself Madam President, by your cabinet and by your people.