One joint statement, one virtual open office, one presidential medal and many gifts.
This is the balance of the visit to Serbia and Kosovo by the delegation led by the American diplomat Richard Grenell with the aim of confirming the commitment to the agreement signed by the two parties in Washington.
"I had to work hard, to go through a lot of problems on both sides," Donald Trump's special envoy almost complained at a press conference in Belgrade.
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Grenel uttered almost identical sentences first in Pristina and then in Belgrade.
"Expect us to create new jobs.
Political topics will have to wait," he said.
In the American delegation that visited Pristina and Belgrade, in addition to Richard Grenell, there were also representatives of the American Development Finance Corporation (DFC), headed by the executive director of this organization, Adam Boler.
The visit to the region came after the signing of an agreement in Washington on September 4, by which Serbia and Kosovo committed themselves in separate documents to economic cooperation, as well as cooperation with the United States of America (USA) on various issues.
What did Serbia get?
The cover was removed from one of the televisions in the Palace of Serbia together by the Serbian Prime Minister in technical mandate Ana Brnabić and the executive director of DFC Adam Boler.
Thus, the office of that organization in Serbia was symbolically opened.
DFC is an American development bank that invests in energy, healthcare, infrastructure, modern technologies, and especially in small businesses.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, says that the DFC in the Balkans will deal primarily with connecting Belgrade and Pristina with more modern roads.
"We will build roads, railways, we have settled one part of the section with the EU, we will continue to talk with the USA as well.
I expect that we will start work on Merdar, but also think about what we will do from Pločnik onwards, when we will open the first airline."
Merdare and Pločnik are two points on the imaginary highway connecting Niš and Priština.
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The deputy executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, Amalija Pavić, tells the BBC in Serbian that other projects will also be able to compete.
"Infrastructure has announced highways, railways, but also other projects - telecommunications projects, optical networks - are good candidates.
We also focused a lot on the development of start-up projects, the stay of young entrepreneurs in the country," she says.
Nevertheless, the representative of the American Chamber of Commerce concludes that this is just the beginning of the work.
"We don't have written and completed projects, but the interests are wide and there will be many chances that we need to take advantage of."
The opposition Freedom and Justice Party announced that there are no new American investments, that anyone who claims otherwise is deceiving the people and that the opening of the American International Development Finance Corporation office means that the USA will actually grant Serbia billions of loans.
What did Kosovo get?
Since the headquarters of the American investment fund will be in Belgrade, Pristina, in turn, received a joint statement with the USA, which confirms the readiness to implement everything that was agreed in Washington.
"Kosovo and the USA aim to faithfully implement the new investment promotion agreement between Kosovo and the USA.
By the faithful implementation of the agreement, both countries are expected to identify projects that further strengthen economic integration and development in the region," states the document signed by Kosovo Prime Minister Avdulah Hoti and Adam Boler.
"This agreement will create thousands of jobs in the area of infrastructure and economic development.
We expect that next week the teams of the ministries will start working together with the representatives of the United States of America," said Hoti after the signing.
https://www.facebook.com/avdullah.hoti/posts/3667133576681303
Amalija Pavić says that the regional aspect of the agreement is very important.
"The region received a sure promise that various American agencies are present and that America sees this region as a place where it will invest in the future.
Until now, we have not been on the map of American investors to a large extent, so this is far to this part of the world."
What did Richard Grenell get?
In Pristina, Richard Grenell had the opportunity to meet with the man with whom he started negotiations from the Kosovo side.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci was scheduled to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the White House at the end of June, but the publication of the indictment proposed by the Special Court for Crimes in Kosovo against Thaci prevented the meeting.
Thaci met Grenel while in office and in Pristina awarded him the presidential medal for meritorious service.
https://www.facebook.com/HashimThaciOfficial/posts/4369329306470728
Upon his arrival in Belgrade, Grenela was not greeted by official recognition but by personal gifts.
From the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, Grenel and Boler received exclusive packages of wine from the host country, who boasted about the gift on Instagram.
In return, a casually dressed Grenell presented Vučić with the book "The White House through History", and he also handed him a personal gift from US President Donald Trump, which Vučić commented on Instagram with the words "From the presidential residence in Camp David straight to Serbia!".
There was also joint singing in the restaurant:
Serbs and Americans in Belgrade singing about Alabama and West Virginia is an amazing night. pic.twitter.com/PBsojnKUA8
- Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 23, 2020
The American Chamber of Commerce, which brings together investors from the USA in Serbia, believes that the United States has gained the opportunity for more favorable investments with this agreement.
"With the support of state money and American taxpayers, American and other investors get a cheaper investment in the region," concludes Amalija Pavić.
In addition to the agreement and gifts, the Balkan hosts also received assurances from the American guest that Donald Trump intends to visit Pristina and Belgrade as well.
It was clear to all the participants of the ceremony that the necessary condition for this is the victory of Trump in the November presidential elections in the USA.
Twelve years after the declaration of independence, Kosovo recognized about 100 countries. However, the exact number is not known.
Pristina reports a figure of 115 countries, a u Belgrade is told that there are far fewer of them.
Among the countries of the European Union that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania, and when it comes to world powers, they are Russia, China, Brazil and India.
Since 2008, Kosovo has become a member of several international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank and FIFA, but not the Unitedih I was bornja.
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