After years of talks, Kosovo will finally get its telecom country code
News Desk
Kosovo will finally get its own international telephone code in mid-December after six years of talks with neighbouring Serbia, authorities in Pristina announced Sunday.
The tiny Balkan territory unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move consistently denied by Belgrade.
The two sides have been negotiating to improve ties since 2011 under guidance from the European Union but several issues had remained unresolved including disputed state property and, until now, the dialling code.
"Kosovo will have its own international dialling code, +383," said Edita Tahiri, Kosovo's chief negotiator with Serbia.
The International Telecommunication Union will officially launch the code on December 15, she added.
Kosovo landlines currently use the same dialling code as Serbia, +381.
Under a bizarre arrangement, mobile phone users trying to reach Kosovo from abroad must first dial the code for Monaco or Slovenia.
According to Pristina, the lack of a dialling code has cost it some 200 million euros ($217 million).
Serbian negotiator Marko Djuric welcomed the deal.
"It's an important agreement which will certainly have positive consequences for our relations with Pristina and with the EU," he said.
afp
