Isolation of Kosovo!

In a conversation that took place in the mid-70s between Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai (then Premier of China), the latter was asked about the impact of the French Revolution on world developments, Enlai responded by saying that "...it is too early to know". This answer reminds me ironically of the recent political developments since the changes of the February 14 elections of this year, where people's expectations were stratospheric while the reality of a successful implementation of all these expectations within a 4-year governing mandate is very small, not to say figuratively negligible.

So it is not far from the mind that by drawing a parallel between how the Chinese perceive the world and the development of their civilization decades or centuries ago and the way we see things, here I think we have a construct of roughly, that is, something that unites us in the way we perceive the development plans and the social transformation promised by the Vetëvendosje Movement and its leader Albin Kurti, or so this government dictates to us, which rather resembles a government that came to power to manage the economic and social problems of the people, but rather plays the role of a cultural movement and is more concerned with the metric of penetrating the people's mind and cultural governance than with the governance of acute socio-economic problems.

Seems abstract?

In addition to taking as examples some of the recent events, starting from the way of managing the situation with the pandemic to the participation of Prime Minister Kurti in funerals or even the total internal focus of all state potential and infrastructure. This is not a bad thing.

Obviously, Kosovo needed an internal review and a different governance approach where people would have felt that they are being heard by the government and that they are being taken seriously. This approach should have happened years ago, but unfortunately people were too late.

But, nevertheless, my preoccupation is related to external Kosovo, i.e. to that Kosovo which, as a result of the stagnation in the number of recognitions from other countries, has stopped acting, has stopped activating all its own mechanisms, cultural influence, sports and of the diaspora to regenerate a second revival since independence. I say this not because we should remain critical of this government or uncreative foreign policies just to fulfill an endless rhetoric. But, I believe that Kosovo is losing many opportunities and chances that may even be irreversible, because we should not always wait for history to repeat itself with only good things and for it to always knock on the door in our interest.

Economy facing the outside

It is costly if Kosovo does not have a binary strategy in the way it governs internally and externally. So a decentralization of foreign policy from the central government is more necessary and urgent. Let's not remain victims of the governing mindset that applies vertical policies where the first victim of these policies remains the foreign policy, as well as the economic policies in the country. An effective coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy is necessary to thicken the way of absorption of investments from abroad. This could be done through two very simple initiatives; First, the creation of the sovereign fund and stock exchange of Kosovo and secondly the creation of a technical group for economic policies abroad that would create space for Kosovo to build a network of potential investors from various financial institutions based in London and New York .

Regional initiatives

Kosovo has no reason to be isolated and isolated in the region. We must think hard and seriously about what our strategy would be to bring the country out of the isolation imposed from outside - because both in the short-term and the long-term plan, the loser is the people of Kosovo, the citizens, the business, the economy and the perspective of the youth ours. "Open Balkan" as a geopolitical game of the Rama-Vucic duo was clearly seen as not in the interest of Kosovo's interests, but this does not mean that we should stop thinking about other, approximating and cooperative ideas in the region and with the countries of the region and beyond. No one would have prevented Kosovo from creating a cooperation network with countries like Estonia, Latvia or Poland, which have a high level of digitization of their economies, or a trade alliance with countries like Montenegro and North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

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Therefore, just because the provocation with mini-Schengen and Open Balkans touched us on the sensitive nerve of the pains of war, it does not mean that we should stop thinking about an active and important role in the region. This is for the sake of economy and development and not any submission to someone else. We must be able to separate the alum from the sugar when it comes to how we perceive our economic priorities. Nationalism in the economy should be applied only when the sovereignty of the country, the safety and public health of our people are at risk. As an important deployment mechanism, we have tariffs, and fortunately, we are a country surrounded by a terrain with advantages, and we have the opportunity and capacity to control our customs and borders.

The people as consumers

Wherever I look in the indices of investors, I do not find even one interested in investing in Kosovo. It is a pity, because we have assets with the potential of exploitation and development, which we could put into a strategic function with the objective of absorbing foreign capital. Kosovo is rare as a country in the region with untapped mineral, human and banking potential. All these healthy components of the economy remain untapped, but there is also a great level of cynicism from the government and other entities that perceive these potentials as unlikely to bring any wealth to the country. I do not agree! On the contrary, a clear, effective strategy based on foreign policies that are built for the objective of attracting investors from abroad could change the situation completely in favor of Kosovo. So, the transformation of the economic mindset in the country should not start from nationalist emotional paradigms or those of top-down control, but from the common interest of the people of Kosovo and the sovereignty of the country, from the needs of the consumer, the increase of well-being in the country , as well as paving a safe economic path for the country.

In the labor market, the Kosovar citizen is no more than a consumer, they are treated the same even when they go to the store, the market, etc. Therefore, the day when we begin to conceive of the economy as a space that unites the interests of the producer and the consumer, from that moment we will understand more about what prosperity and raising the standard of living mean. All these will not be brought to us by America or the EU! These changes have to start from the grassroots and the Government has a big role to play here.

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Maybe if everything goes well, it is likely that someone will ask Albin Kurti in 2028 when Kosovo will feel part of the region? The answer may be like Enlai's; 'it's still early'. If we waited for that day with this mindset, then trouble for us. It's time to move on. Let's break the isolation.

(The author is a former banker and writer based in London)