Nevzeta Imami from Prizren (Kosovo) will be able to visit her native Bihac in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after two decades, after the heads of diplomacy of the Western Balkan countries announced that it would be possible to travel with identity cards only.
In addition to this agreement on freedom of movement, two more were approved – on the recognition of higher education qualifications and the recognition of professional qualifications of doctors, dentists and architects – which should be signed on November 3rd as part of the Berlin process.
Apart from Serbia, BiH is the only country in the region that does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, but recognizes the passport as a valid document.
Until now, the citizens of Kosovo needed a visa to enter BiH, and since 2014, the same applies to the citizens of BiH who want to travel to Kosovo, because then reciprocal measures on the visa regime were introduced.
Muharrem Zejnullahu, president of the Community of Albanians in BiH and former first ambassador of BiH to Albania, hopes that the “agony” related to the visa regime between the two countries will soon be over.
He emphasized that Albanians living in BiH face “insurmountable problems” when they want to go to Kosovo.
“And people who lost their loved ones, family members in BiHwere not able to go to the grave of their children. Now that perspective will be created, I hope,” Zejnullahu told.
He points out that there were many students from BiH in Kosovo before the war in the 90s, and he hopes that cooperation in the field of education will be renewed again.
Movement with identity cards would also mean a lot to young people from Kosovo, underlines Musa Bajmak, president of the association of students and youth of Kosovo Bosniaks.
The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Maljinda Bregu, said on October 21st that Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, BiH, Albania, and Kosovo reached an agreement on the movement of citizens without visas, Radio Slobodna Evropa writes.
E.Dz.
