Foreign Affairs Committee on June 9th, 2026

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

If you'd be kind—

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

—using the Serb community, who are Kosovo citizens, to try to make an unstable zone.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Can you name one single measure that you think would be helpful in improving those relationships so that you can move forward?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Answer very briefly.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I asked if you could name one single effort that you believe is the effort that's really going to make that difference so you can move forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Just give a brief response, please, because we're over time.

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

The Kosovo government is very much committed to the rule of law in northern Kosovo. Equal opportunity is an essential pillar of a stable and democratic society. We remain committed to constructive engagement with all communities in co-operation with international partners to have a calm environment in northern Kosovo.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next we go to MP Mona Fortier.

You have four minutes.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much, Your Excellency, for being here today and being part of this conversation.

As we've been saying, Canada has been a long-standing supporter of Kosovo, and I want to talk about moving forward.

How do you think our bilateral co-operation between Kosovo and Canada has the greatest potential for growth in the coming years?

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

Having seen Prime Minister Carney as a prime minister who engaged very much and pushed further the economic and trade collaboration, Kosovo has opened the door for Canada's collaboration in mining sectors. There are Canadian companies that are interested in investing in Kosovo and exploring mining and minerals in Kosovo.

During the past five years, Kosovo has been participating in PDAC every year. We engage with the provincial and federal governments, and we are trying to open a new chapter in economic and trade collaboration. In addition to defence and security, as we have succeeded so far, now is the time for Kosovo and Canada to see what we can do in regard to economic and trade collaboration.

Kosovo and Canada have signed a FIPA agreement, a foreign investment protection agreement. We are still in a process of negotiation for a second agreement, for the elimination of double taxation, as well as in a process to sign an MOU, an agreement between the chambers of commerce of Kosovo and Ontario. The infrastructure law already exists for Kosovo and Canada to do business and to invest in our respective countries. It's a matter of politics now to see whether they want to take concrete steps to see what we can do in this regard.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

Earlier you mentioned the Kosovar diaspora. Can you talk a bit more about how the Kosovar diaspora in Canada plays a role in strengthening economic ties or cultural ties, for example? I know you mentioned a piece earlier, but maybe you have more to share with us.

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

Kosovo has a small diaspora here, but it's a very vibrant diaspora. It's a diaspora that is quite integrated in Canadian society, and it has been playing an important role in strengthening relations between Kosovo and Canada. It's a bridge, a very strong bridge, between Kosovo and Canada.

These people have been working with dedication and contributing to the Canadian economy. Also, lots of people from our diaspora here have recently been investing in Kosovo and encouraging other businesses from Kosovo to come and invest in Canada. This is, more or less, what they have been doing in terms of strengthening relations between our two countries.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier—Gloucester, ON]

If you have one more wish to share for the relationship—you have another 30 seconds left—what would it be?

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

I would love to see much stronger relations between Kosovo and Canada. I have been here for six and a half years, and I would love to see, after me—nothing yet officially, but I might leave Canada in a couple of months or a year—a much stronger ambassador come here, keep up the work and make Kosovo and Canada much closer to one another. This is my wish for what I want to see between our two countries and our people.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

We'll go next to Monsieur Brunelle-Duceppe for two and a half minutes, please.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ambassador, I think that NGOs have identified some corruption issues in public institutions in Kosovo. Nevertheless, we've seen a new generation of politicians who seem genuinely willing to take up this challenge and tackle the problem. Is the current Kosovo government implementing measures to address the issues raised by some NGOs?

I don't want to attack anyone, obviously. However, we're here to talk about the situation. Is the government currently taking steps to address the issue of corruption in certain public institutions in Kosovo?

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

I really don't know for which....

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I don't know whether you've read the latest Freedom House report. Perhaps we can send it to you. The report found that many public institutions in Kosovo were plagued by deep‑rooted corruption. The report noted that a new generation of political leaders seemed intent on tackling these challenges through judicial and administrative reforms.

I wonder whether you could, for the committee's benefit, share what measures this new political generation wants to implement to address these issues.

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

Well, honestly, I don't know. I haven't seen that report, and I am not in a position to provide any information on something I'm not aware of.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

No worries. We'll send you the report, which was quite positive. It showed that Kosovo wanted to tackle certain issues head‑on. Every country in the world has had to grapple with issues of this nature. I can tell you about the Charbonneau commission in Quebec. It was more of a “beach ball” type question to find out about the measures being implemented to clean up Kosovo's various public institutions.

I can ask another simple question. What economic sectors could Canada and Kosovo develop that are obvious areas where we could work together?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Give a brief response, Mr. Ambassador, because we're over the time.

[H.E. Adriatik Kryeziu]

As I mentioned, mining and minerals is the sector that Canada and Kosovo can work very closely on in the near future. As I said, the infrastructure law already exists between our two countries, and Canadian companies are most welcome to come and invest in Kosovo and to consider Kosovo as a hub for the region.

Our prime minister has been very open with Canadians, and he really wants to see more steps taken and more concrete engagement with Canada. We targeted the mining and minerals sector. This is the key sector that might bring Kosovo and Canada closest. This is, for now, as far as—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for appearing in front of the committee and answering our questions. We appreciate it. We know you're one of the longest-serving ambassadors in Canada. You've been here six years, and there's no sign of them wanting you back. You must be doing a really good job.

I will now briefly suspend to prepare for the next hour.

Once again, thank you, on behalf of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

I call this meeting to order.

For the second hour of today's meeting, I'm pleased to welcome our witnesses, who are joining us by video conference.

First, we have Dr. Muhamet Brajshori, lecturer at Heimerer College and former deputy minister of foreign affairs of Kosovo.

We also have Dr. Gëzem Visoka, associate professor of peace and conflict studies, Dublin City University.

Finally, we have Jos Boonstra, senior researcher, Centre for European Security Studies.

Up to five minutes will be given for opening remarks, after which we will proceed with rounds of questions.

I now invite Dr. Brajshori to make an opening statement of no more than five minutes.

Thank you.

[Muhamet Brajshori, Lecturer at Heimerer College and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honourable members of the committee, for the invitation.

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your study on the security situation in the western Balkans, a region in which Canada has played an important role in supporting the transition from conflict to peace. While significant progress has been achieved, the region continues to face challenges that could undermine these gains.

Canada is a special place to me personally. During the war of 1999, when Serbian forces drove hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes, my own family was among those separated by violence and ethnic cleansing. Our grandparents got separated from us, but they found refuge in Canada, became Canadian citizens and lived the rest of their lives in dignity and peace in Canada. We are thankful to the Canadian people for that.

My principal assessment is straightforward. The western Balkans remains one of the most vulnerable geopolitical spaces in Europe, where unresolved bilateral disputes, external authoritarian influence and incomplete Euro-Atlantic integration continue to intersect. The region should therefore not be viewed as a post-conflict legacy issue but as an active component of European and transatlantic security.

Three developments deserve particular attention.

First, the post-Cold War political settlement in the Balkans remains a challenge. Serbia continues to reject Kosovo's independence, maintains close strategic relations with Russia and China, and seeks to preserve political influence across the region in the neighbouring countries.

Second, geopolitical competition is intensifying. Russia continues to exploit unresolved bilateral disputes and institutional vulnerabilities in the region, using regional tensions to challenge western cohesion and create strategic uncertainty.

Third, the credibility of the Euro-Atlantic integration process itself is increasingly being tested. When democratic reforms do not produce visible strategic outcomes, support for those reforms weakens and nationalist alternatives become more attractive.

Kosovo illustrates many of these challenges. Since declaring independence in 2008, it has built democratic institutions, aligned consistently with the European Union and NATO, and demonstrated a clear western orientation. However, it remains only partially integrated into the international system, is excluded from the United Nations by Russia's veto and faces additional obstacles because five EU and four NATO members have not recognized its independence.

Reducing geopolitical grey zones in the western Balkans requires a structured pathway towards Kosovo's membership in NATO. The Banjska attack in September 2023, carried out by a heavily armed criminal group under the control of the security structures of Serbia, demonstrated that the unfinished normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia continues to pose security risks and has highlighted the importance of credible deterrence and renewed political engagement in their dialogue process.

The border region offers another important lesson. Countries that undertake difficult democratic reforms must see tangible progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration. Otherwise, public confidence erodes, nationalist forces gain strength and the credibility of the western project itself is weakened. The future European integration of countries such as Albania and Montenegro therefore has significance beyond their borders; it will shape the strategic direction of the entire region in the years and decades to come.

From a Canadian perspective, the western Balkans should be approached through the broader framework of transatlantic security. Instability in the region has implications for NATO cohesion, European security, migration management, energy resilience and the credibility of the rules-based international order.

In this context, I would respectfully offer three policy recommendations.

First, Canada should actively support Kosovo's membership in NATO and encourage further international recognition of Kosovo among partners with which Canada maintains close relationships in the European Union, NATO and the Commonwealth.

Second, Canada should establish a regular Canada-western Balkans summit that brings together governments, parliamentarians, business leaders and civil society to ensure long-term Canadian engagement within the region.

Third, Canada should expand its economic footprint by encouraging greater involvement of its private sector in defence, energy and critical minerals. This will provide credible alternatives to authoritarian influence while creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses in a strategically important market.

Mr. Chair, the central strategic challenge in the western Balkans is not the presence of conflict but the persistence of uncertainty. History has shown us that a political vacuum invites external interference whereas credible pathways towards Euro-Atlantic integration strengthen democratic resilience and long-term stability.

Canada has played an important role in the western Balkans over the past three decades. It possesses both the credibility and the strategic interest to continue contributing to the stability of a region that remains essential for the future security architecture of Europe.

Thank you very much.