Representatives Visit Obiliq and Podujeve Municipalities

13/11/2015

UBT Rector Prof. Dr. Edmond Hajrizi together with Gunther Fehlinger, Chairman of the Austrian-Kosovar Society, Karl Grammantisch, Mayor of Austria’s Lasse Municipality and representatives of the association of municipalities of Austria, and Mr. Wolfgang Grossruck, former mayor of Austria’s Greiskrichen Municipality and former chairman of the OSCE Assembly, visited yesterday two Kosovo municipalities, Obiliq and Podujeve. 

At the meetings with the leaders of Obiliq and Podujeve municipalities, they were briefed on the organization of those two municipalities, with a special emphasis on the way the property issues are regulated in these two respective municipalities, which continues to be a major problem in our country.  

In Obiliq, they were welcomed by Mayor Xhafer Gashi, who briefed them on the development of the municipality and the problems its residents were facing.  Mayor Gashi invited businesses which are part of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce to invest in the Obiliq Municipality.  He presented to the visitors a concrete plan for a free economic zone in Obiliq. 

The possibility of twining of Kosovar and Austrian municipalities, Obiliq and Lasse, was also discussed, as a way for exchanging of the experiences.

In Podujeve, the delegation was received by Deputy Mayor Nazmi Rudari, who briefed them on the achievements of the local government in Podujeve and the development projects. 

Deputy Mayor Rudari and representatives of the Austrian delegation discussed also the prospects of cooperation between the Podujeve Municipality and Austrian municipalities. 

The role of municipalities for the local economic development and cooperation with other stakeholders was also discussed at the meeting.  It was noted that the meeting would serve as a start of a new cooperation in the aspects of economic and social development. 

Besnik Tahiri, Executive Director of the Kosovar Institute for Local Government, and Mr. Gunther Fehlinger, chairman of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, also attended the meeting. 

 

Earlier, Mr. Karl Grammantisch and Mr. Wolfgang Grossruck attended a conference organized by the UBT that treated the property issues to which they made a valuable contribution by bringing the Austrian experiences.