Investment Council Discusses On Investment Potentials and Priority Sectors

Tirana, 4 October 2019 / Chaired by the Minister of Finance and Economy, Ms Anila Denaj, Albania Investment Council discussed “On Investment Potentials and Priority Sectors.” Attended the meeting the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Ms Belinda Balluku (as a special guest), as well as other public and private sector representatives—IC members.

In her opening speech, Minister Denaj said that the meeting is a good opportunity for all the parties to dialogue the promotion of vital sectors of the economy in sustainable development models. According to Minister Denaj, fiscal consolidation, sectoral economic policies, natural resources, country’s competitive advantages and the potential of human resources are key factors to enable a structured medium-term economic growth.

The objective of the analysis, prepared by the IC Secretariat in the framework of this meeting, was to incite the debate on sustainable growth options for investments and potential resources. Some of the main findings of the analysis, deriving also from the consultations with the private sector, are the prerequisite to direct policies as per sectoral priorities (e.g. agro-processing, natural resources, TEDA, and digitalisation), timely capacity building of human resources in line with the requirements of the labour market, strong support to SMEs and proper fiscal management, good governance and transparency on public investment coordination; necessity for a strategic approach for attracting foreign direct investments, as well as the engagement of the business to cooperate at the sector level to absorb funds.

The participants commented on the country’s prerequisite to establish and maintain a good reputation to attract foreign investors. They emphasized that the natural resources and energy are country’s assets to be developed in a good competitive manner and with high standards without damaging the country’s environment and without damaging other sectors (e.g. tourism, etc.) and that the sustainable development is to come through micro, small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, they highlighted some key challenges to sustainability such as property rights, the bureaucracy of the public administration and timely implementation of legal changes. Among others, the Minister for the Protection of Entrepreneurship, Mr Eduard Shalsi informed about the setup of a network of dedicated business coordinators in each of the key ministries and institutions, to resolve cases of lengthy bureaucracy within the institutions.

Full meeting materials will be published soon on the IC website. For more information, please visit us again.