BELGRADE (Serbia), February 26 (SeeNews) – The Western Balkans need a new model of economic development based on cooperation, in order to improve the region's business climate and attract more investments, Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic said on Monday.
The region needs more private investment and increased exports in order to achieve a sustainable economic growth and increase the share of high-tech products in exports, Brnabic said during the Western Balkans Investment Summit hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, according to a press release issued by the Serbian government.
Strengthening the political and economic cooperation will contribute to a better position of the region on the global investment map, while the EU membership is a common goal of all six countries in the region, Brnabic said.
She noted that in the Western Balkans region, Serbia has the largest share of foreign direct investment (FDI), which rose by 27% in 2017 to 2.6 billion euro, as a result of successful structural reforms and improvement of the business and investment climate.
The future of the Western Balkans region is in the young people, Brnabic said and added that connecting them is of great importance for strengthening the dialogue, cooperation and preserving stability in the region.
The high-level regional conference has been carried out regularly by the EBRD since February 2014. The prime ministers of all six Western Balkan countries - Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro - participate in the event this year.