Ahmetaj calls for reduction of bureaucracies in the Montenegro conference

The reduction of bureaucracies in relation to foreign investments was highlighted  by the Albanian Minister of Economic Development in the “Economy – the basis for regional collaboration in Western Balkan” conference, being held in Montenegro (Sept. 25-27).  The conference has gathered most of the high officials of Balkan of the economic sector, to discuss for a further collaboration between Balkan countries.

The conference started with a round table discussion by business representatives and Ministers of Economy of Western Balkan countries. The discussion topics related to the potential fields for foreign investments and the common challenges of a regional collaboration.

The conference is being attended by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, the head of Committee for Economic Relations in the east Europe, Min Dirig and the deputy General Director of the Department of European Politics in the German Federal Ministry of External Affairs and Energy, and also by representatives of businesses of Western Balkan countries.

Minister Ahmetaj also spoke regarding the business climate saying that Albania is working very hard in order to create a more friendly business climate for foreign investors. “We should cut the bureaucratic procedures which often become barriers for foreign direct investments. Albania is doing a great job in this direction but still, our economies are performing below their real potential. Balkan countries’ economies still provide unexploited opportunities which must be identified and utilized,” declared Ahmetaj.

As for the performance of the Albanian economy, Ahmetaj affirmed that the country’s economy has marked growth and that the programs with IMF and the World Bank have shown positive results. “In a short time, we will launch the “Doing Business” reform which consists in the improvement of 7 from 11 indicators of the IMF report. This policy will have a rapid impact for businesses because will alleviate the terms of doing business in Albania,” ended his word Minister Ahmetaj.

According to him, Balkan countries should collaborate more, in the framework of the Conference of Berlin, held on August, 2014. In addition, the Albanian Minister of Economic Development, proposed the establishment of a joint working group of regional countries. The working group will serve as a tool to implement as soon as possible the discussions and proposals made in the Conference of Berlin.

The “Economy – the basis for regional collaboration in Western Balkan” conference is being held in the framework of the implementation of the proposals made in the Conference of Berlin. The Conference of Berlin held on August 28, in which the Ministers of Economy of Western Balkan countries discussed for a concrete collaboration between countries and the finding of new opportunities to improve their economies’ performance.

News source: BalkanWeb

Photo credits: Telegraf