Locating business registration and licensing services in the same windows will not only save the government significant overhead costs, but will also provide added convenience to businesses.
TIRANA, Dec. 14 – A new agreement between two Albanian government agencies means that businesses in cities across Albania will soon be able to enjoy the ease of the one-stop-shop for applying for commercial licenses. The architects of the system say it is an important milestone that will make doing business in Albania easier.
The directors of the National Licensing Center (NLC) and the National Registration Center (NRC), Eneida Guria and Tomi Kola, signed a cooperation agreement that will allow the existing NRC service offices to process business licenses. Kor衬 Shkodra and Vlora are the first cities where the licensing services will become available.
Locating the two services in the same windows will not only save the government significant overhead costs, but will also provide added convenience to businesses.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Dritan Prifti participated in the ceremony. He noted the important contribution of the one-stop-shop centers for business registration and licensing in improving the business climate in Albania, which was also recognized by the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, where Albania’s ranking for starting a business — directly related to the performance of the NRC and the NLC — has risen from a rank of 123 to 46 between the 2008 and 2010 reports.
“We commend the cooperation between the NLC and NRC, and encourage it as an excellent model of the kind of cost-effective, cross-institutional synergy that is needed to provide more efficient and transparent government services to businesses in Albania”, said the USAID representative at this ceremony, Sean Huff.
The Mayor of Kor衬 Niko Peleshi, spoke on behalf of the three municipalities that will be the first to benefit from the implementation of the NLC/NRC agreement.
“We are very pleased that the two one-stop-shop centers will replicate their proximity to one-another in other regions outside Tirana, allowing businesses to take care of all their registration and licensing needs at one place,” he said.
While Floreta Luli-Faber, a representative of the business community and the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania, said, “We are very pleased that the two one-stop-shop centers will replicate their proximity to one-another also in other regions outside Tirana, allowing businesses to take care of all their registration and licensing needs efficiently in one place.”
Both NLC and NRC were established with support by the Millennium Challenge Corporation Albania Threshold Program as e-government initiatives that save investors valuable time in establishing business operations, while increasing transparency and reducing opportunities for corruption.
The second stage of the MCC Albania Threshold Program (MCCA2) is a two-year, $15.7 million agreement between Albania and the United States, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and administered by USAID, which aims to strengthen the rule of law, reduce corruption, and increase public oversight, thereby improving the business environment in Albania through IT solutions and technical assistance.
