Prishtina, 20 February, 2024
The first meeting of the National Council for Economy and Investments was held today, the opening of which was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, together with the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, the Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, deputy ministers, Hysen Durmishi and Getoar Mjeku, as well as other representative actors from public and private, local and international institutions.
During this meeting, Prime Minister Kurti emphasized the commitment to build a strong platform for public-private dialogue, which enables the identification of opportunities and efficient addressing of challenges, through which the development of an ambitious annual plan for 2024, supported by the Secretariat of independent of the Council, financed by the Swiss SECO and managed by the EBRD in Kosovo.
“This plan includes a series of targeted activities to promote investments and exports, as well as to intensify and deepen the dialogue between the government and the private sector. In this annual plan there are three main events, in October and November 2024, in Kosovo, which offer valuable opportunities for the promotion of foreign direct investment and export, as well as for all combinations of networking: ‘Government-Government’, ‘Business-Government’ and ‘Business-Business’ (B2B)”, he said, recalling the date October 3-12, 2024, for services enabled by ICT; October 24-26, 2024, for the Food Industry Week of Kosovo; and November 20-26, 2024, for the Timber Industry Convention.
In this meeting where the visions and goals for Kosovo’s future journey towards economic growth and sustainable development were shared, the prime minister mentioned the goal of attracting foreign direct investments, the commitment to a facilitating and encouraging business environment and the prioritization of reforming the legal framework and regulatory, which affects the minimization of the administrative burden and the provision of an equal environment for all.
On the other hand, the prime minister called the promotion of sectors that are appropriate for Kosovo as essential, such as agriculture and food sectors, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services enabled by information technology, light manufacturing sectors, electricity production through renewable resources and also gave focus to the desire to become the desired destination for the production of electric vehicles due to its dynamic and cost-competitive workforce.
“With a strategic positioning in Southeast Europe and access to key markets, together with a young, agile and multilingual workforce, and an open and stable economy, we are prepared to welcome investors and partners who wish to be part of of our success story”, Prime Minister Kurti concluded his speech, thanking the private sector for its contributions and continuous cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.
The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Luan Dalipi, spoke about the annual plan, who, among other things, said that the Government’s approach to cooperation with the private sector was and is based on three main pillars, values, systems and results. In cooperation with the Secretariat of the National Council for Economy and Investments, he said that a calendar has been clearly defined for the whole year as well as for the coming years of public-private dialogue.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Dear, Mrs. Rozeta Hajdari, Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade,
Dear Mr. Elbert Krasniqi, Minister of Local Government Administration,
The Honorable, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, and
Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Economy, Getoar Mjeku,
Dear leaders of independent state institutions,
Dear Mr. Artan Mehmeti, head of the secretariat of the National Council for Economy and Investments,
Dear Mr. Sergyi Maslichenko, director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
The honorable ambassador of France in Kosovo, Mr. Olivier Guerot,
Dear representatives of the private sector,
Dear representatives of chambers and sectorial and bilateral associations in Kosovo,
Dear representatives of development agencies,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear attendees,
It is an honor and a pleasure to open this event, where we will share visions and goals for Kosovo’s future journey towards economic growth and sustainable development. As Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, I am motivated by the unique position our country occupies and the opportunities to build a progressive, open, comprehensive and stable economy. We aim to attract foreign direct investments that bring high value and quality employment to our citizens. In this regard, our Government has built a good foundation for further improvements. In the last three years alone, foreign direct investment has doubled, and so have exports, while the ratio between exports and imports has increased from almost 1 to 9, to even better than 1 to 6.
Continuing on this successful journey requires unwavering commitment. Such is our commitment to a business environment that not only facilitates and encourages the operation of enterprises at home and abroad, but also invites innovation and competition. We have set as a high priority the reformation of the legal and regulatory framework, to minimize the administrative burden and to ensure an equal environment for everyone. This includes fiscal incentives for key sectors and investments in infrastructure and education, to prepare Kosovo’s workforce for future challenges.
Our government has focused on the connection of the labor market with education and professional training.
Promoting sectors that are right for Kosovo is essential to maximize our economic potential. Kosovo’s agriculture and food sectors form a cornerstone of the export economy, accounting for 17% of total exports, and are characterized by several competitive advantages such as competitive labor costs, a suitable continental climate and a vibrant wine industry. Meanwhile, Kosovo is capitalizing on the global information and communication technology boom, positioning itself as a leading destination for BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services, enabled by information technology, with a technology sector that has shown significant growth that from 2015. Light manufacturing sectors have managed to establish a significant presence, with electrical equipment, metal, plastics and wood manufacturing driving more than 43% of exports in 2023, highlighting the country’s strong position in these industries. Kosovo is also turning to renewable energy, with ambitious goals to transform its energy landscape, while also continuing to build on our rich mining heritage.
A few weeks ago we concluded the first auction for 100 megawatts in Rahovec, in which case six serious international corporations are competing for the production of energy from renewable sources, in this case the sun. Meanwhile, we will have another 150 megawatts in the lots from 75 megawatts during this year, hopefully during the middle of 2024, in which case they will not be specified for the country since together with the corporations that will win we will manage to make this determination. So our goal is to add 1200 megawatts of electricity production through renewable sources with the 2022-2031 Strategy, which is very ambitious but at the same time feasible.
We also want to become the desired destination for electric vehicle manufacturing due to our dynamic and cost-competitive workforce. It is no coincidence that in Kosovo we have cases when certain businesses import the raw material from a country such as Austria, and send the final product to a neighboring country of Austria such as Switzerland. Operating costs in Kosovo are low, both in terms of paid labor and rent, which is generally cheap.
We are committed to building a strong platform for public-private dialogue that enables identifying opportunities and efficiently addressing challenges. So, both the opportunities and the challenges, let’s see how much we can define them together, and this is the way we think we move forward: both competition, innovation and cooperation. No competition without cooperation, but of course no cooperation without competition.
Through close cooperation with the private sector, business associations and international partners, as well as in coordination with my Chief of Staff, Luan Dalipin, we have managed to develop an ambitious annual plan for 2024. This plan is also supported by the independent Secretariat of Council, financed by the Swiss SECO, for which we thank them, and managed by the EBRD in Kosovo, whom we also thank.
This plan includes a series of targeted activities to promote investments and exports, as well as to intensify and deepen the dialogue between the government and the private sector. In this annual plan there are three main events, in October and November 2024, in Kosovo, which offer valuable opportunities for the promotion of foreign direct investment and export, as well as for all combinations of networking:
‘Government-Government’, ‘Business-Government’ and ‘Business-Business’. The periods to remember and I hope all of you will put in the calendar of activities and plans you make for the year in which we are, are:
▪ October 3-12, 2024, for ICT enabled services;
▪ October 24-26, 2024, for the Food Industry Week of Kosovo; AND
▪ November 20-26, 2024, for the Wood Industry Convention.
During last November, under the organization of the Secretariat of the National Council for Economy and Investments, meetings were held with representatives of the most competitive chambers and companies of ten sectors, which resulted in about 130 requests from the private sector.
Values-based dialogue between the public and private sectors is vital for identifying opportunities and effectively solving challenges for private sector development.
So, we are a Government that does not see values separated from interest, we see them together. It is possible to have them together, we know they are not the same thing. Values and interest are not the same thing. However, we do not want values but without interest, where there is no benefit, some kind of self-sufficiency of values but without material benefit is not our preference. But there is also no need for a brutal interest that ignores any values. We believe that it is possible to have both of these and this should be a working principle in our public-private dialogue.
This dialogue between the public and private sectors is vital for identifying opportunities and efficiently solving challenges for private sector development.
We understand that a strong partnership between government and businesses is essential to create a dynamic and innovative economy. Through this dialogue, we aim to have a shared understanding of opportunities and challenges, committing to sustainable solutions that benefit all actors involved. This means to listen attentively, to each other, especially to you, to be transparent in decision-making and to act with integrity.
As we move forward, Kosovo remains determined to play an important role in the regional and international economic scene. With a strategic positioning in Southeast Europe and access to key markets, together with a young, agile and multilingual workforce, and an open and stable economy, we are prepared to welcome investors and partners who wish to be part of our success story.
Thank you for your contribution so far and I wish you well in this necessary discussion anyway.
Last modified: February 21, 2024