Prishtinë, April 20, 2021 – Economic development based on a strategic approach is essential for enabling measurable and sustainable economic growth. Therefore, the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo requires the Government of the Republic of Kosovo to draft a strategic document as a guiding document for economic development policies.
The National Economic Development Strategy should be initiated in the first quarter of the new Government and should be based on an analysis of economic potentials and priorities, and among other things it would guide the private sector in making strategic decisions. The strategic document would serve to avoid the ad-hoc decisions or reactive approach that has characterized institutional decision-making in the past. In this way, the Government, the Assembly, as well as other non-political and non-governmental stakeholders would be able to establish control over Kosovo’s economic development, setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound objectives.
The American Chamber strongly believes that priorities such as strengthening the rule of law, addressing issues related to human capital, strengthening ties with the diaspora, promoting domestic investment and attracting foreign investment, and addressing physical infrastructure with a focus on energy infrastructure, should necessarily be included in the Strategy, whereas its drafting should be carried out in close consultation with representatives of the business community, experts and economic institutes, academic institutions, international development organizations and international financial institutions, as well as representatives of trade unions.
Finally, the American Chamber of Commerce suggests that the strategy drafting process should take into consideration, but not be limited to factors such as economic and demographic data, Kosovo’s natural resources, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and local and global trends, as well as technological developments.