Kosovo–Netherlands relations are foreign relations between

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Kosovo declared its independence on 17 February 2008 and the Netherlands recognised it on 4 March 2008. The Netherlands have maintained an embassy in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...

since 27 June 2008, and Kosovo opened an embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in November 2009. Relations between the two countries are considered to be good and the

offers support to various projects in Kosovo with the goal of aiding the country in its transition to democracy.

Military

The Netherlands participated in the

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, which resulted in a UN administration of Kosovo and then to eventual independence. The Netherlands currently has 7 troops serving in Kosovo as peacekeepers in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

led Kosovo Force. Originally there were 3,600 Dutch troops in KFOR."Kosovo Force (KFOR)"
www.nato.int Link accessed 21-07-09

Economics

Economic cooperation between

and the

is limited although there are several areas for cooperation between the two countries in the energy and agricultural sectors.

Development

Outside of the EU framework, the

uses the Matra Programme, of which Kosovo is a beneficiary, to organise projects in countries in Central and Eastern Europe to aide them in their transition to democracy and rule of law. In the case of

, the Dutch Embassy uses this programme to encourage cooperation between the Serbian and Albanian communities in the north of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosovo-Netherlands relations

Military

Economics

Development

See also

References