The EFTA States and Kosovo hold their second round of negotiations

EFTA and Kosovo delegations

Zef Dedaj, Acting General Director of KIESA at the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, headed the Kosovar delegation, while Karin Büchel, Minister at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, acted as the EFTA spokesperson.

Delegations continued their work and made good progress in all areas under negotiation. The chapters on competition and dispute settlement as well as the annexes on rules of origin and trade facilitation were concluded, while SPS had been concluded through intersessional exchanges ahead of the round. During this round, Kosovo highlighted their strong wish to include trade in services in the negotiations. Both sides therefore agreed to continue their exchanges on the way forward on services at heads level. The negotiations were, once again, conducted in an excellent spirit.

EFTA’s full report of the second round is available here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Kosovo

Total trade between the Parties has grown steadily over the last ten years. In 2021, EFTA States exported goods worth USD 59 million to Kosovo while imports from Kosovo totalled USD 49 million.

EFTA’s main exports to Kosovo in 2021 were vehicles, tobacco and pharmaceutical products. For the same year, merchandise imports from Kosovo consisted mainly of furniture, plastic and plastic articles and iron and steel products.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Kosovo here.