Kosovo is a newly born European country with an upper middle class economy. 

Bangladesh and Kosovo have Quazi history of struggle and sacrifices of valuable lives to achieve the independence. 

Both the countries are making their best efforts to find the ways and means for the investment and development in many areas including defense and security. 

The relations between the two countries are getting stronger to stronger day by day. Recently, with an exchange programme two diplomats from Kosovo and two from Bangladesh are participating diplomatic training programmes at Kosovo Diplomatic Training Academy and Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy. 

Bangladeshi students for the first time have started to go to Kosovo for higher studies and Kosovo’s employers have started to employ Bangladeshis. 

Güner Ureya, a seasoned diplomat with journalism background is the first Ambassador of Kosovo to Dhaka since 2019. 

Born in 1973, Ambassador Ureya obtained bachelor degree in journalism and Master’s on international relations. 

A brilliant and cool Ambassador Ureya is fluent in Turkish, Albanian, Serbian-Croatian and English. 

Prior to the appointment as an Ambassador to Bangladesh, Güner Ureya has a varied career having worked as a journalist, advisor of the High government officials and having held managerial functions in media and government institutions in Turkey and in Kosovo. His previous posts have seen him engaged in issues such as economic diplomacy, foreign policy, inter-ethnic relations, organizational and legislation issues. He served as Deputy Head of Mission to the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Turkey since September 2008. He has also served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo as Director of the Department for Economic Diplomacy. On August 28, 2019 Ambassador Ureya has presented his letters of credence by which he started his term as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the People's Republic of Bangladesh. 

Ambassador Ureya has great interest in Sports particularly in football and table tennis, He also holds stake in theater and poetry (as a poet part of several Turkish and Kosovan anthologies). Güner Ureya is happily married and blessed with two daughters.

In an exclusive interview with The Security World, the Ambassador has discussed many issues including contentious Rohingya, economy, Bangladesh Foreign Policy and defense and Security. 

The excerpts of the interview. 

We stand ready for developing cooperation with Bangladesh in all fields, including defense and security.  First of all, let me express our gratitude to your country for providing security to Kosovo in the post-war period. Hundreds of Bangladeshi police officers served as peacekeepers in Kosovo, ensuring safety of our citizens. As Kosovars, we are very grateful to your country and your police. Bangladesh is a country that provides the most peacekeepers to the countries which face domestic security problems in post-conflict periods. Your country, especially, in this regard deserves the highest respect.  After the opening of our embassy, we held a series of meetings with senior defense and security officials of Bangladesh. I had courtesy calls with the former Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed and incumbent Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, in person. During these talks, the readiness of the Bangladesh Army to work closely with the Kosovo Security Force, was expressed. In addition, the Bangladeshi side stated its willingness to provide all kinds of facilities for the training of Kosovo Security Force personnel in Bangladesh.  This commitment to cooperation was confirmed through the invitations sent to the Kosovan side in the near past. The Kosovo Security Force as a relatively new military structure is working intensively to reach a classic army capability. I’m sure that our countries will have concrete cooperation opportunities in this field in the future.

We are a new country and our State-level relations with Bangladesh are quite new. While many countries this year are celebrating their 50th year of diplomatic relations with Bangladesh, our two countries established diplomatic relations only four years ago. 

We have developed intense relations in a considerably short amount of time. In 2019 we opened Embassy in Dhaka and I feel honored to be the very fırst Ambassador of my country to Bangladesh. Likewise, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Germany H.E. M. H. Bhuiyan last year presented his credentials as the first Non-Resident Ambassador of Bangladesh to Kosovo. Putting aside the effects of the pandemic, we should be very content with the rhythm of our cooperation. I can firmly say that our relations are developing rapidly. We initiated cooperation in different fields.  We concluded two Memoranda of Understanding, the first one for Bilateral Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the second one for Cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Kosovo and the Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh. 

The Agreement on Economic Cooperation, the Agreement on Cultural Cooperation and the Agreement for Visa-free visits for holders of diplomatic and official passports are in progress. With the engagement of the two parties, bilateral trade is increasing day by day, and the cooperation between our institutions is at a satisfactory level. As Kosovo, we are eager to cooperate more with Bangladesh not only on the economy but also in fields like education, sports, culture, and security. We are keen to cooperate in multilateral forums as well. 

As Kosovo, we commend the achievements of Bangladesh and especially congratulate Bangladesh for big economic growth most of all in the last few years. We consider Bangladesh as a brotherly country and reliable partner. 

First of all, let me emphasize that my country deplores the terrible consequences of the unjustified aggression of Russia on Ukraine and we express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people. There may be problems between countries, but there are peaceful instruments and ways to overcome the problems. Unfortunately, Russia couldn’t overcome the arrogance of its own leadership and chose to use force. Russians are known as a conqueror nation in history and they are proud of it, but unfortunately, they are ignoring the reality of today. With hyped pride, Russia is hurting Ukraine and itself, just as well the rest of the world. Made-up pretexts don’t produce results. Also, the eras of conquest are over. As the European Union model shows, those who prefer cooperation, those who embrace peace and democracy will win, but not the invaders. Invaders and use of violence cause huge humanitarian, social, environmental, economic and other damages. On the other side, aggression makes opponents become closer allies.  Sweden and Finland already applied for membership in NATO. We as the Republic of Kosovo are seriously thinking and willing to join the NATO alliance in order to reduce our security risks. To face the regional and global challenges of safety, Kosovo`s strategic solution is the integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures. The membership institutionalizes the relations between the countries, particularly in the economic and defense field, as well as sets the frames of the behavior with which the weak are protected from the eventual misuse of the most powerful ones. Our vision is very clear. We want to build Kosovo on the fundamental principles of democracy.  It is necessary to provide a suitable environment for the functionality of democracy and the welfare of the people. Small countries strengthen their democracy and welfare environment with peaceful approaches and pragmatic partnerships in different fields, including security and defense. We as Kosovo are trying to improve our democracy by deepening our cooperation with countries that possess strong democratic institutions and higher democratic standards. We perceive threats from the countries that have not embraced democracy and are ruled by autocrats. Despite the positive trends we have in Southeast Europe, there is another trend that could easily trigger a return to bitter history in the Balkans: extreme nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and the return of influence of the non-democratic powers in the region.  For that reason, it is important that all the countries in the region to share a common vision of their Euro-Atlantic future. Unfortunately, Serbia refuses to come under the same umbrella of security and thereby harms trust-building in the region. Not only that, but it threatens the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well, through the Serbian entity and its elements there.

 

NATO has a very crucial role in ending the war and peace-building in the two countries in the region: “Bosnia and Herzegovina” and “Kosovo”. After the genocide committed against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica, NATO urgently mobilized itself for the airstrikes in response to the other possible atrocities of the Serbian side in Bosnia Hercegovina.  On August 28, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces launched a mortar shell at the Sarajevo marketplace killing 37 civilians. On August 30, 1995, NATO officially launched “Operation Deliberate Force” with a large-scale bombing of Bosnian Serb targets. The bombing lasted until September 20, 1995. This operation was crucial to stop further atrocities and aggression of the Bosnian Serb side backed by Serbia. 

A relatively similar but more decisive humanitarian approach was conducted also for halting the Serbian regime’s bloodshed and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo.  Atrocities of the Serbian regime had been condemned by international organizations and agencies such as the UN, NATO, and various INGOs. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s (Federation between Serbia and Montenegro, under the Milošević, known as Butcher of the Balkans) refusal to sign the Rambouillet Accords - an agreement that was drafted to end the conflict and stop the ethnic cleansing and mass killings of Kosovar Albanians - lead to the NATO’s humanitarian intervention in this country.    

As a result, after the 78 day air campaign against Serbian targets, NATO’s intervention stopped the war and atrocities in Kosovo. During the war time, more than half of the population of Kosovo become refugees or were internally displaced. Immediately after the war, most of these people returned to Kosovo and to their homes. 

After the war in 1999, an international peacekeeping force named the Kosovo Force (KFOR) led by NATO started its mission in Kosovo. The intervention itself and also peacekeeping work made NATO friendly to the Kosovar people. 

As you know Kosovo is a landlocked country.  Three of our neighboring countries, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are already part of NATO. Broadly looking, almost all the countries in our region have joined NATO. Besides our neighboring countries, from Balkan Peninsula: Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, and Slovenia are in NATO as well.  Kosovo has a clear pro-NATO orientation, while Bosnia and Herzegovina because of Serbian influence and veto cannot introduce a clear stance on this. In our region, only Serbia declared that it has no plan to join NATO.

The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is an armed force transformed from the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) in January 2009, 11 months after the declaration of independence of the country. Let me clarify that the KPC  the predecessor of the KSF was founded in 1999 with the incorporation of the structures of the dissolved Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to it.  The KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civil authorities, and participation in international peacekeeping missions and operations. Since 2018, it is in the process of transforming into the Kosovo Armed Forces (KAF). Until the end of 2028 is expected finalization of the transformation of the KSF into the KAF. 

Any citizen of Kosovo over the age of 18 is eligible to apply for the service in the Kosovo Security Force.  The membership of the Kosovo Security Force is required to reflect the ethnic composition of the country. Members of the Security Force are protected from discrimination on the basis of gender or ethnicity. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo has taken active steps to recruit women into the KSF, and also has encouraged all the ethnic communities living in Kosovo to be part of the structure. 

A new law or constitutional amendment has defined the capacity of the KSF. From the aspect of human capacities altogether is planned to have around 5,000 active soldiers and over 3,000 in reserve. We have a small but skilled and very good educated force. This small but very professional defense force of Kosovo is ready to provide security where  it`s required. In 2021 KSF took part in the first-ever international peacekeeping mission abroad. This is an indication that Kosovo, now is ready to provide security for others as well. 

Father of the Bengali Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s foreign policy principle is described with the words, “friendship to all, malice towards none”, which reflects Bangladesh’s foreign policy approach in the best possible way.  In fact, it is not only about foreign policy, this is a slogan that political actors and countries should adopt in internal politics as well. Bangladesh’s peaceful foreign policy is a good example for many countries. I see Bangladesh as a country that is always open to dialogue with the main determinants of the global system and has a successful foreign policy. In addition, Bangladesh as a country is promoting global peace, particularly through its contributions to peacekeeping missions. Not only in the last 13 years, but since the independence of the country, Bangladesh is very successful in its diplomacy. Bangladesh is also very successful in the economy, especially in last 10 years. Bangladesh will be much more successful if the main determinants of the country are just a little more patient and reconciled in the internal dialogue.

 

I am sure that the Rohingya people will be forever grateful to Bangladesh and the Bengali people who have embraced and hosted them. It is not easy to host more than one million refugees. Bangladesh deserves the highest commendation for this humanitarian approach. Rohingyas are human beings, like you, like we are. They deserve to go back to their homelands. Unfortunately, Myanmar with its domestic political instability always found a pretext to neglect the obligations they have toward their citizens, to the Rohingya people. Acceleration of the return process of the Rohingyas would be good for all parties. Postponing the process can also lead to increased security problems, including organized and individual crimes inside the camps. The international community should support Bangladesh more and increase the pressure on Myanmar. This is not enough, a decent living environment should be created for the Rohingyas in Myanmar. In addition, those who perpetrated atrocities against the Rohingyas should be prosecuted.

Both Kosovo and Bangladesh have high economic growth. In 2021 Kosovo achieved two-digit economic growth. Bangladesh in the last ten years has had one of the highest economic growth rate in the world.  This shows that both countries are very dynamic and have more potential for cooperation.  In 2021 we have almost 20% increase of trade volume between Kosovo and Bangladesh.  But we are not satisfied with the figures. Two friendly countries deserve to have more trade than we have today. In 2021 trade volume was around 13 million Euros.  Hopefully, we will conclude soon an Agreement on Economic Cooperation between Kosovo and Bangladesh. We are planning to negotiate an Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation as well. These agreements will ease economic and trade relations between the parties. Besides these, we have different business negotiations between the parties. With the willpower of our governments and all stakeholders in the next couple of years, we will have more satisfied figures in our economic and trade relations. As a result, we are satisfied with the perseverance and determination shown by the parties so far.  That makes us optimistic about the future of our relations.