Former Kosovo prime minister seeks 'strategic partnership' with Israel

Kosovo's former prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, visited Jerusalem this week as Kosovo's head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group, marking the group's first visit to Jerusalem.

Hoti was responsible for Kosovo's decision to normalize ties with Israel and opened the first Kosovo embassy in Jerusalem in 2021. The Muslim-majority country was the first European state to open an embassy in the nation's capital after the United States and Guatemala.

During his visit on Wednesday, Hoti said that Kosovo would like to see a “strategic partnership” with Israel.

“That would mean working extremely closely, not only in economic cooperation and diplomatic relations and things like that but working together and sharing information, helping each other to increase capacities in terms of security issues, strategic development,” Hoti said.

Kosovo agreed to move its embassy in exchange for Israel officially recognizing Kosovo’s independence, a gesture that Hoti said was “a breakthrough decision.”

“It gave the signal in the international arena that Kosovo is a country that should be respected and should be recognized,” he said.

Very happy & honored to welcome in #Israel a delegation of #Kosova's Assembly, comprised of @Avdullah @Enver_Hoxhaj,@VKorenica,@HyseniKryeziu @beke_berisha,Merita Drenori.
This visit portrays the mutual commitment to the all-round deepening of 🇮🇱🤝🇽🇰 relations.1/2 pic.twitter.com/Np6nEitllQ

— Tammy Ziv 🇮🇱 (@AmbTammyZiv) June 13, 2023

Kosovo has been condemned by other Muslim countries and entities for its policies regarding Israel but Hoti said Kosovo has been unfazed by criticism from Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

“We were determined to move forward, and we have no dilemmas as long as the US is in Jerusalem. We follow the foreign policy of the US,” he said.

Hoti also noted that Kosovo’s sympathy for Israel comes from sharing “a similar history.”

“We have been surviving for centuries under different regimes, under different occupations. We were 500 years under the Ottomans and close to 100 years under the Serbian regime. So we managed to survive for centuries without having our state. So in a way, we struggled a lot for centuries to have our country,” Hoti added.

During the visit, Hoti and four other members of the Kosovo parliamentary group met with Hoti's Israeli counterpart, Knesset Member Erez Malul, who heads the Knesset’s Kosovo Parliamentary Friendship Group, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Israeli Welfare Minister Ya’akov Margi. The group also met with National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and opposition Knesset Member Gideon Sa’ar, a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.