DSDC team

Mrs. Valbona Kuko

Mrs.Valbona Kuko is dhe DSDC Director. She joined DSDC in 2006 and has been the head of the Aid Co-ordination Unit for two years. She is responsible at ensuring that DSDC effectively co-ordinates the foreign assistance to directly support the Government’s priorities and that related information is shared between ministries and donors. She holds an MBA degree from University of Nebraska and University of Tirana, Faculty of Economics. Her working experience for the last 14 years has been primarily linked to donor coordination and European Integration issues.

Mrs. Oriana Arapi

Mrs. Oriana Arapi heads the NSDI Unit since May 2010. She started working at DSDC as coordinator for NSDI in 2007. Her work focuses on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of NSDI; policy coordination, analysis and monitoring reports concerning several sectors such as energy, regional development, education, business development, social inclusion, decentralization, etc. Principal areas of expertise cover policy and strategy formulation, analysis and reporting, strategic planning processes, social-economic and urban development, decentralization and regional development. She holds a Master Degree in European Studies from Danube University, Austria.

Mrs. Azeta Xhafka

Mrs.Azeta Xhafka has worked as an external assistance co-ordinator since 2007. She is responsible for the World Bank Projects and IPS Trust Fund and for other donors such as USAID, Greece, Netherlands, Turkey, DFID, France, Poland, and Canada. Her work includes monitoring and evaluating the progress of various project components as well as in coordinating line ministries priorities with the donor community assistance. She holds an M.A. degree in International Business with a specialisation in International Finance from the International Business School at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, USA.

Mrs.Manjola Duli

Mrs. Manjola Duli is a DSDC staff member and NSDI Coordinator since October 2009. Her both education and experience background are in social sciences and public administration. Previously she has been managing projects for preparing urban and social implementations plans and city and neighbourhood development strategies. Mrs. Duli has strong experience in gender issues, youth education, Roma community integration as well as some research experience in social issues and infrastructure development. At DSDC she is responsible for NSDI sectors like: economy, public finance, health, property rights etc.

Mrs. Alpina Qirjazi

Mrs. Alpina Qirjazi started working for the Department as IPS Coordination Consultant in June 2009, after 16 years of experience with several government and donor organizations on various and evolving development issues. Since July 2010 she works as donor coordinator and is responsible for the UN agencies and One UN Programme, Sweden, Spain, Japan, China, etc. She is graduated in Finance and Mathematics and holds an MPA degree from University of Nebraska and University of Tirana, Faculty of Economics. She has expertise and experience in finance, programme coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation.

Mr. Josif Gjani

Mr. Josif Gjani joined DSDC in November 2009 as IPS Coordination Local Consultant, acting as DSDC Focal Point for SWG and FTI/DoL. In September 2010 he was appointed as a coordinator at the Strategies Unit for the sectors: Environment, SME Development, Public Finance and Agriculture & RD. He is responsible for EU/IPA programme; Germany (KfW and GTZ), and Austria/ADA. He holds a Bachelor Degree in: “Development Economics and International Cooperation” and a Master of Science in Advanced Economic Development: Major in International Economics, from from the Faculty of Economy, University of Florence, Italy. His experience focuses on project & overall aid coordination and management, EU Integration and IPA programming, development of Sector-wide Approaches and PBA, Strategic Planning and Monitoring.

Ms. Florensa Haxhi

Ms. Florensa Haxhi started working for DSDC as a coordinator for strategies, in June 2010. Both her educational background and experience are mainly focused on administration / coordination and finance. Previously she has worked in the private higher education sector, as a coordinator for postgraduate studies, and as a team leader for the management of various projects. In DSDC, she is primarily responsible for sectors such as Justice and Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Innovation Technology. Ms. Haxhi holds a (Dual Major) Bachelor in Business Administration and Finance from the State University of New York, USA, and an MBA degree with concentration in International Finance from the Ecole Superieure de Gestion, Paris, France.

Mr. Klodjan Seferaj

Mr. Klodjan Seferaj has joined the DSDC in 2009 as an IPS Consultant. Since July 2010 he is working as an External Assistance Coordinator and is responsible amongst other donors for Italy, Switzerland, EBRD, BEI, and CEB. Principal areas of his expertise include financial management, sector-wide approach, and donor coordination. He has been highly involved in budget related policy analyses, education, and public finance sector analysis. Prior experience in program/project management and experienced in desk study and field research, feasibility analysis and social assessments, program/project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.