Former Kosovo Ambassador to the United States, Avni Spahiu, believes that our country needs to show more diplomatic engagement to preserve and strengthen the partnership with its biggest ally (the USA).

Although relations between the two countries remain strong and important, they have gone through periods of cooling influenced by external and internal factors, he says in an interview with ​KosovaPress.

On the Independence Day of the USA, Spahiu emphasizes that Washington remains the main address for lobbying and cooperation.

“There is a cooling that comes from many factors, including external ones, such as the repositioning of the USA, its focus on other hotspots or its new geopolitics, especially with the new president Trump, but there are also issues that have somewhat damaged the relations between the USA and us, where we have not communicated properly with our international partner. I think that the relations are still good, strong, based on a solid foundation, and I hope the improvement of these relations will continue, and I have no doubt that our main partner will continue to support Kosovo in the future,” said Spahiu.

The crisis in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and other geopolitical changes in the world, according to Spahiu, have not shifted the American concern for Kosovo. However, he says that under current circumstances, institutions need to engage more to keep Kosovo in America’s attention.

“We have lost focus on the interest of the USA but also of other influential countries, due to the new crises that have emerged and a new geopolitics that has now been set in motion. We have several hotspots — Ukraine, the Middle East, and many others — where different American interests, economic, political, strategic, intersect. It is normal that Kosovo is no longer the primary focus, but as recent times have shown, Kosovo has not been forgotten and remains part of the American concern,” he added.

He stresses that lobbying is one of the areas where Kosovo needs to invest more.

“Our diplomacy must be active in working in Washington. We need support in Congress but also in the new administration. For this, I think we must work with Congress to renew the connections we had in the past. We always need a strong voice in Congress, because Congress passes resolutions or requests to the administration for certain issues, and we would benefit from this,” Spahiu said.

July 4th marks the Independence Day of the USA, a national holiday commemorating the declaration of independence in 1776. It is an important day in American history and a symbol of freedom, unity, and democracy.