On 18 December, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Mr. Zahir Tanin, visited Viti/Vitina Municipality and met with Mayor Sokol Haliti and heads of municipal departments. The SRSG was accompanied by the Deputy SRSG, Mr. Christopher Coleman, and the Head of the Office for Community Support, Mr. Leonid Markaryan.

The Mayor provided the SRSG with a full picture of the situation in the municipality, covering socio-economic needs of the population, environmental and security concerns, as well as efforts related to women's empowerment and engagement of youth. He also highlighted a number of existing partnerships with international organizations, as well as cooperation with other municipalities in the region and beyond. He expressed his appreciation for UNMIK’s focus on trust-building and support to municipalities, communities and civil society around Kosovo.

The SRSG commended the efforts undertaken in Viti/Vitina municipality under the Mayor’s committed leadership and reaffirmed UNMIK’s readiness to support these efforts within the framework of trust- and confidence-building, and, in that context, a number of areas of cooperation were discussed.\