Today was held the Business Forum 2018, Kosovo- Saudi Arabia organized by the Governmnet of the Republic of Kosovo in cooperation with Kosovo Manufacturing Club and Kosovo Chamber of Commerce.
Participants in this forum were representatives of Saudi Arabia chamber of commerce and a considerable number of businessmen who considered the possibility of bringing foreign investments in Kosovo and creating a more convenient business environment in Kosova, but also deepening the economic collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Part of the forum were also discussions about the Law on Strategic Investments and other topics related to economic development.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Mr.Enver Hoxhaj, thanked the representatives of the Arab Chamber of Commerce for the visiting and stressed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, were the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo’s independence and have supported Kosovo’s statehood. Mr.Hoxhaj, added that Kosovo Government’s effort is to open the economy of Kosovo to the world as a country that has political stability, macroeconomic stability and fiscal stability. The best indicator of Kosovo’s economic development is the latest measure from Word Bank, where Kosovo has a 4.5 percent increase. Deputy Prime Minister- Hoxhaj, invited all the participants to introduce themselves and to create possible cooperation bridges.
Khalid Abdulrahman AL Othman, chairman of Saudi Mubadara Development co. – thanked the Government and the people of Kosovo for their hospitability and expressed the intention that this meeting to be a good opportunity for cooperation between the two countries. He indicated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is interested to collaborate with countries in the region and that they see Western Balkans as an important strategy. Also, Khalid Abdulrahman AL Othman expressed the interest that this cooperation will continue, as the country where he comes from has an investment and development program for the region until the year 2030. The investment areas foreseen in this program are investments in energy, especially in solar and renewable energy, as well investments in agriculture, in the field of production in industry and technology, as well in tourism.
Astrit Panxha, executive director of the Kosovo Manufacturing Club, showed what makes Kosovo a very attractive country for investments, saying that Kosovo is a small country but with a great potential. Kosovo’s special importance and peculiarity is the young population and the very active entrepreneurs who are increasingly looking develop the economy of the country. According to Panxha, the potential of Kosovo is also augmented by favorable fiscal laws and fiscal policies. “Kosovo is a country that provides profit. Among other things, Kosovo’s products have the potential and are also exported to European countries with very high quality. Kosovo can also serve as a basis for export as there are numerous agreements with the EU that also enable access to the European market. Not to overlook the potential of technology and natural beauties that make Kosovo a very attractive place for investment in tourism.”
Representative of the Chamber of Commerce, Berat Rukiqi, expressed the interest of cooperation with Arab businessmen as a strategic and very powerful partner. He expressed that Kosovo is opened to partnership, highlighting the culture and open development economy to build long-term partnerships.
Minister Hamza indicated that Kosovo is a new country but with great ambitions for economic development. The minister indicated that human capital is one of the most important aspects of economic development that Kosovo possesses. He showed that Kosovo is one of the countries that has undertaken major reforms, and according to the latest Report of Doing Business, is ranked as the 40th country, which is a considerable success compared to previous years.
He expressed that the Government of Kosovo has built a fiscal policy which is in support of the private sector and conducive to the creation of a sustainable economic environment.
Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Development- Mr.Lluka, showed that in Kosovo there are around 300milion of foreign investments in the country within a year, which mainly come from Germany, Switzerland and Turkey. He stressed that Kosovo legislation, especially the Foreign Investment Law- which guarantees foreign investments and the Law on Strategic Investments- which enables direct investments negotiations, are two laws that provide potential for economic investments. Also, there are numerous interstate deals for investment protection.
Also, within the forum, was held the B2B meeting with various businessmen from Saudi Arabia and Kosovar businessmen to create opportunities for possible cooperation and creation of investment opportunities in our country.