At the Academy was held a scientific roundtable on the topic "Kosovo facing current safety challenges"

Vushtrri, March 31, 2022- ”Safety is the basic precondition for the existence and development of human being and society", was assessed today during the roundtable held at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety, where the main topic of discussion was "Kosovo facing current safety challenges". The roundtable organized by the Faculty of Public Safety aimed at the scientific treatment of this topic, focusing on current risks, factors that may affect the overall safety of the country. 

Deputy Director General of the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety (KAPS) Kastriot Jashari, greeting the participants said that it is much more important to organize this roundtable at a time when the world is facing challenges in the field of safety. He said that the scientific discussions that will take place during this roundtable will contribute to the concept of public safety.

While the Dean of the Faculty of Public Safety Bejtush Gashi who spoke on the topic "Kosovo is a strategic crossroads to threats, challenges and confrontation with risks", said that the main factors for destabilizing safety in the world are the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. 

Gashi said that Kosovo is among the countries most exposed to hybrid threats in Europe. "This is partly due to the geographical position and the global trend and mainly due to the recent past and relations with its northern neighbor Serbia", said Dean Gashi, saying that the safety of the state is not in doubt, as the institutions of safety in Kosovo and NATO military presence are a guarantee factor for safety in the country.  

Dean Gashi said that the goal of Kosovo institutions should be for NATO to have a permanent presence in Kosovo, not through foreign armies, but for local safety capabilities to be increased, in particular the Kosovo Security Force to be part of NATO.

"The world today is experiencing a complex situation full of challenges, threats and dangers. The war in Ukraine has the potential to ignite frozen conflicts on the periphery of the continent, including others in the post-Soviet space and in the Western Balkans. "The policy of cooperation and integration in international security institutions, with special emphasis on NATO integration, as a means to achieve stability in the country and the region, is the objective and basic strategic solution for Kosovo's security and protection of national interests," said Gashi.

Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Gashi during the roundtable presented his exhibition which had to do with the war in Ukraine and its possible reflections in the Balkans. 

"In this line, my presentation will bring information in the form of arguments that an escalation of the security situation in the Balkans as a reflection of the war in Ukraine, does not seem like a real option, beyond threatening rhetoric and some sporadic actions in support of this rhetoric." Gashi said that Russia has done and continues to do propaganda to extend its influence in the Balkans. 

"Even now Russian propaganda in the Balkans is continuing its activity.”It is even playing strongly with the sentiment of the Serbian public regarding the NATO campaign against Serbia in 1999, on the occasion of the anniversary of the beginning of the NATO attacks on March 24, 1999", said Gashi, presenting some arguments that has been used by Russia to spread propaganda against the Western Balkans. 

Colonel Sefer Isufi in the Kosovo Security Force spoke about the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Defense in geopolitics and the new security environment. Isufi said that the ministry has worked and is working on building operational, human, professional and technological skills and capacities. 

Prof. Dr. Besfort Rrecaj spoke about the challenges and opportunities of Kosovo's membership in international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (EC) and NATO. 

Meanwhile, prof.dr. Vilard Bytyqi presented his presentation “Organized crime in Kosovo; A growing threat to security ". 

Rabit Konjufca, political advisor at the Ministry of Defense of Kosovo, also participated in the debate on the topic "Kosovo is facing the current security challenges", thus contributing with his comments on the topic of current security in Kosovo.

At this roundtable also were present students from the Faculty of Public Safety who discussed and asked questions about Kosovo's membership in NATO and other international organizations. The participants said that Kosovo's membership in NATO would be a solution for the protection of national interests.