Albanian 
Prishtina, June 8 2020 – The Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo reaffirm their readiness for constructive partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, emphasizing that addressing health and economic consequences after the outbreak of COVID-19 must be among top priorities. The two chambers of commerce emphasize that removing barriers in trade, strengthening dialogue through existing mechanisms and above all, approving a recovery package must be at the top of the new Government’s agenda.
In this regard, the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce welcome today’s decision of the Government of Kosovo to abolish trade barriers, a step that would enable greater regional economic cooperation but also better inter-neighborly relations. Eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as advancing the movement of goods, services, people and capital between the Balkan states, would increase the prospects of attracting direct foreign investment and sustainable economic development.
Furthermore, the two chambers of commerce express strong confidence that Kosovo needs a National Pact on Economic Development, which in addition to building the economic recovery framework would also help address issues that have obstructed Kosovo’s sustainable economic development thus focusing support in the manufacturing sector, especially in enterprises with export potential, but also in the services sector with a focus on information technology enterprises. In this regard, the structured intervention in the sector of academic and professional education is inevitable in order to address the greatest demands in the labor market, with attention to the features and behaviors of the younger generations, but also the needs of the labor market as well as the priorities of the National Economic Transformation Pact.
The new economic model will mean that sectors with competitive potential and follow-up services for these sectors must go through a holistic process of digital transformation. A new development model requires the advancement of existing financial system instruments to increase capital in the market, through the creation of investment funds, which can accumulate funds from citizens, businesses, diaspora and local and international financial institutions.
Furthermore, both business organizations believe that the recovery package must include amendment of the legal framework, respectively the issuance of new legal acts for the implementation of further tax facilities, including tax breaks for new investments, domestic or foreign, with a focus on international enterprises aimed at stabilizing the supply chain and maintaining competitiveness, following their possible departure from Asian countries.
Finally, the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo reiterate their commitment to close cooperation with legislative and executive institutions in order to continuously improve the business environment, which would be an incentive for domestic and external investments.