Photo by: Ryan Lumpkin

Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaci spoke Monday about the growth of Kosovo as a nation and the importance of U.S. aid and intervention in the advancement of the young nation.

Thaci spoke to a crowd of approximately 100 students and staff about the main reason he was in Denver. He said he came to work on finding solutions to the problems within his country. He called his visit “historic.”

“This is a great opportunity to re-emphasize the need for American influence and help,” he said in his native language of Albanian, which was dictated to the crowd by a translator.

He called for the U.S. to aid Kosovo in the resolution of its problems by removing trade constraints, focusing on economic prosperity, investing in high capital and in in business projects.

“American support and leadership is necessary to ensure tolerance, reasoning, justice and democracy,” he said. “These values are the leading principles of American values and they have built today’s society of Kosovo.”

He also spoke about the triumphs and struggles of the growth of Kosovo.  He especially called attention to relations with Serbia and surrounding European nations, which have been strained since the independence of Kosovo’s.

“We are focused on a future of peace and developments to overcome division,” he said. “We have to re-build the future so the past does not repeat itself.”

To do this, he re-emphasized the need for the support of the U.S.

“We must stress the role of the U.S. as a guide towards peace and freedom,” he said.

B