On Tuesday, 03 November 2020, we held a Salon Discussion on the topic: US Presidential Election: Implications for Kosovo and the Balkans. We had three distinguished panelists: Drilon Gashi, International Relations Expert (Washington DC); Richard Lukaj, Private Investor and Philanthropist (Connecticut US); and Anila Nicklos, Member of the Organizing Comitte of the Albanian-Americans for Biden (Ohio, US).
Drilon Gashi, as the first speaker of the discussion, emphasized that the US presidential election this year are among the most significant elections in the modern history of the United States. The two candidates have different positions on the direction that the US should take, especially at this time when the pandemic has greatly affected the economic situation in the US, as well as ongoing problem of inequality.
The second panelist of this salon, Richard Lukaj, argued that despite the changes that have taken place in the US, the orientation from Kosovo and Albanians in general has fortunately been constructive and positive in general. However, he stressed the need to join both political camps in the US. Lukaj added that in recent years there have been major divisions in the region and which has produced instability in Kosovo which has affected the country’s economic development and membership in international organizations.
Finally, Anila Nicklos argued about the importance of the minority vote in the 2020 US elections, including the vote of Albanian Americans. Among others, Mrs. Nicklos stressed the importance of a common approach of the Albanian diaspora, as well as the coordination of the diaspora with the institutions of Kosovo and Albania.
The salon discussion was moderated by Visar Xhambazi, Policy Researcher, D4D Institute, while the event summary blog will be written by Linda Latifaj, Researcher, A Path for Europe.