Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she is running for the American presidency after Barack Obama steps down has not passed unnoticed in Kosovo, where many of whom are eager to show their support for Bill Clinton’s spouse.

“She and her husband, Bill, will always hold a special importance for us. They are synonymous with our struggle for freedom,” said Arta Fetahu, who was in Prishtina during the troubled 1990s.

Kosovars remember Clinton as a President who was a powerful ally of pro-independence Kosovars in the days when Serbia ruled Kosovo with an iron grip.

His statue at the entrance of Prishtina, placed on Bill Clinton Boulevard, is a testament to the gratitude that many people in Kosovo still feel.

It is not just Bill who holds a special place in Kosovo history. Hillary also has a fan club having visited Kosovo during her time as Secretary of State and having shown her support for now independent country.

“For me, my family and my fellow Americans this [Kosovo] is more than a foreign policy issue, it is personal,” she said during her visit in 2012.

The United States remains one of the most important allies of Kosovo, and that friendship is expected to continue if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Party primaries and goes on to be elected President in 2016.

“We are a small country, and it would mean a lot if a US President is elected that has a special consideration for Kosovo,” Rron Dalladaku, a resident of Prishtina, said.

Ramadan Ilazi, currently Kosovo’s Deputy Minister of European Integration, remembers being guest of honour during President Bill Clinton’s visit to Kosovo in 1999, just after NATO’s air war forced out the Serbian government, as Kosovar refugees began streaming home.

“I was 14 and had just returned home from the refugee camps in Macedonia. I never thought I would get to introduce our hero before a crowd in Ferizaj,” Ilazi recalled.

“Clinton spoke in Ferizaj about the future of Kosovo as an open society, free of fear and hatred. His message echoes today, 16 years on, and I often think of the speech and remember what is at stake for Kosovo and the Balkans,” he concluded.

A stone’s throw from the 10-ft-high statue of a waving Bill Clinton, a local businesswoman has decided to pay tribute to the possible first woman President of America by opening a boutique named “Hillary.”

The store, which sells womenswear, was visit by Hillary Clinton in 2012 as she paused by the statue of her husband.

“We were honored that she stopped by and wanted to give her a present,” Fjolla Kasemi-Morina said, remembering that she gifted Clinton with one of the products sold at the store – a pantsuit.

“We’ve done nothing compared to what we should do for them. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” added Ismet Dumani, who sells sunglasses on a stand positioned between the store and the statue of Clinton. He said he has often personally tended to the small grassy area around the statue.

“I think people should vote for Hillary in the upcoming presidential elections in the United States,” Dumani continued, proudly showing a photo of Bill Clinton he carries in his wallet.

Gratitude towards the United States is seen all over Kosovo, with American flags omnipresent alongside the Kosovar flag and 4th of July celebrations rivaling those for national holidays.

Good relations with Kosovo were maintained during George Bush’s presidency as well. He was President when the US acknowledged Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.