TIRANA, March 16 – Macedonian investors have appealed for easier procedures and incentives to increase their presence in Albania especially in the tourism and construction sector. The call came during an Albania-Macedonia business and investment forum held this week in Tirana, which brought to Albania some of the key investors represented by Invest Macedonia, the neighbouring country’s government agency responsible for foreign direct investment and export promotion.
“We are interested in investing in Albania. Together with our partners we are trying to find a solution to build a tourist resort but we have to solve out where and how,” said Arkan Kerim, the president of the Tourism Chamber within Macedonian Chamber of Commerce.
Thanks to its low taxes and investment incentives, Macedonia has recently emerged as a top regional destination in the attraction of foreign direct investment.
In a meeting with Invest Macedonia business representatives, Parliament speaker Ilir Meta described Macedonia as an example Albanian can learn from.
“We can learn from Macedonia’s experience, especially in the development of agriculture, the agri-processing and food industry,” said Meta.
Economy Minister Milva Ekonomi described the joint business forum as successful in acquainting potential Macedonian investors with investment opportunities in strategic sector including the newly established technological zones and priority areas.
“We acquainted the Macedonian representative with the incentives we have approved on strategic investments, business registration and the issue of permits and licences,” said Ekonomi.
The stock of Macedonian foreign investment to Albania slightly rose to €22 million in 2014, up from €17 million in 2012, according to central bank data.
Despite some disputes over exports of Albanian fresh vegetables, trade exchanges between the two countries have been increasing in the past few years.
Albania’s exports to Macedonia rose by 21 percent to 6.4 billion lek (€46 mln) in 2015 while imports slightly increased to 8.6 billion lek (€61 mln), according to INSTAT.
Back in 2014, Albania’s exports to Macedonia climbed to 5.3 billion lek (€37.8 mln) while imports slightly dropped to 8.3 billion lek (€59 mln).
