EFTA States and Kosovo meet for their first round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement

Members of the delegations from the EFTA States and the Republic of Kosovo

Karin Büchel, Minister at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, acted as the EFTA spokesperson. Zef Dedaj, Acting General Director of Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA) within the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, co-headed the Kosovar delegation together with Arjeta Latifi, Chief of Cabinet of the Minister.

Expert discussions were held on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), competition, trade remedies, legal and horizontal issues and dispute settlement, trade and sustainable development (TSD), and intellectual property rights (IPR). Investment, services and government procurement were addressed at heads of delegation level.

The discussions were constructive and paved the way for the conclusion of a mutually beneficial free trade agreement. Delegations agreed to hold a second round of trade negotiations in Pristina towards the end of 2022.

You can find EFTA’s objectives in the free trade negotiations with the Republic of Kosovo here.

EFTA’s full report of the 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.