Switzerland’s Kosovo Diaspora Honoured

Pristina – Kosovo Albanians have found their second home in Switzerland from where they have continued to help their homeland, Kosovo’s President said during a trip to the country.

“For two decades many Kosovar families have been working in Switzerland from where they have been helping Kosovo economically,” President Fatmir Sejdiu said before his departure.

The Kosovar community is one of the largest immigrant groups in Switzerland and for more than twenty years they have been working in construction and trade.

There are no accurate figures on the number of Kosovar Albanians in Switzerland but they are thought to number between 100,000 and 150,000 to some estimates.

Kosovo’s languishing economy heavily relies on money sent home from members from the diaspora and this money dwarfs Kosovo’s Gross National Product.

Sejdiu and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey are to inaugurate a ‘Thank You’ plaque in a sign of gratitude to the Swiss people and the government.