Behgjet Pacolli seeks US a recipe for development of region

On this panel, where other Balkan foreign ministers were participants, Pacolli has presented his programme for economic development of the Western Balkans.

Below we bring you his whole speech:

My Western Balkans Economic Development Programme

As an entrepreneur with international credentials that I was early aware, that only economic development could ease in the most natural way the interethnic conflict of our region.

Many today ask why we are paradoxically the poorest region in Europe? Maybe they're right.

Today, some 20 million people live in our region, with a low per capita income rate of about $10,000 a year. Is this what we and the citizens of this region want? Not at all. Without any deep analysis of the current trends and predictability of economic developments, I strongly believe that this region offers opportunities to live with multiple higher incomes than these are now.

The reason is simple and logical: because there are many natural resources, qualified human resources and proximity to important global markets. It's just in our hands how we connect the three main points: human and natural resources, capital and market access. You might even ask me about the question, as some prefer to call it a million, but I only know the answer to what is the way ahead:

It needs change. Changing the status quo of political, economic and entrepreneurial relations. I'm starting with this one, which, in fact, I had my prescription early.

In 2000, I founded the Union of Albanian Producers.

With the same goal, six years later, when Kosovo was still not independent, and when it seemed like regional initiatives, it could still be utopic and sometimes be attacked as a heretic pacifist, I founded with the help of one of the Tink-Tank more with the influence on American policy-making wageSIS, the Foundation for Economic Development of Southeast Europe, in order to seek opportunities to facilitate economic co-operation among the countries of this region, creation of new jobs, strengthening development and boosting the self- knowledge of their citizens' rights and obligations.

Co-operation in Southeast Europe does not really have an alternative. It will make the region more attractive for foreign investment, while free movement of citizens, ideas, goods and capital will consolidate mutual trust and respect across divided countries and fragmented societies.

A few years later, in 2011, in the quality of the president of Kosovo, I also announced the platform for the establishment of the National Economic Union.

These were just some of my efforts as an entrepreneur before I decided to devote myself to politics and with a single goal: to give the country first, but also the slow economic development software region.

To give this opportunity to the business world of our country and that of the region. Political elites. Albanians in particular, who only are empowered by the opening of borders in the region, because they are one of the largest Balkan nations, though divided into several states.

software or if you want, you can also call it my cure for Balkan political diseases.

• Destruction of status quo in economic relations between our countries, its leading players, that is simply market democratisation. This, of course, would bring new players into our space, but the lure of those from outside;
• The destruction of monopolies: dominant positions of certain states, in particular the neighbouring state of Serbia and certain companies in agriculture, energy and other areas;
• injecting the best organisational practices into our companies;
• Private Public Partnerships;
• Changing development patterns, liberalizing our economies,
• increasing the weight of services,
• modernised the mining industry through modern, excise management in the capital market;
• Enhancing infrastructure of all kinds;
• Make good use of the human and natural resources of countries in the region:
• By releasing new energy from the economic subjects founded by Albanians, but completely open and inter-Balkan co-operation.

I'm not naturally a conventional politician. And for that, I'm taking another example: It is neither normal nor logical for me to hold non-functional state companies in air traffic, railways, the medical sector, education and respective fields on foot.

The time has come to establish regional storage, in these sectors. And the only condition for this is that in these halls, professional companies and international credentials, including interested American companies, should be invited as shareholders.

Let's not forget about the 20 million market in this part. The strategically important region, where they cross two important international transportation corridors, such as that number 10 and number 8, which, unfortunately so far, have been successfully exploited only by criminal trafficking.

I think that the region in general and Kosovo in particular can receive huge financing even in interethnic entrepreneurs, and for these there are many convincing reasons:

We, in the middle of Europe, have new populations, very dynamic and deftly in the field of information technologies.

To achieve our common goal of intense economic development we must use new forms of attracting these investments. So, I have identified as a good attractive tactic of these investments, even to boost interethnic co-operation, the creation of free economic zones.

We require financial institutions, those of the European Union and others to take this tested path seriously.

Unfortunately, these ideas of mine and similar ideas took time to start living.

The poison of interethnic division was planted deeply. It took equally the regeneration of the late 20th century political class to open up new roads. The European Union was only too late aware of pursuing such a course.

The Berlin Process -- this regional initiative of this year, initiated by the European Union leading Germany -- is one of the paths of Balkan co-operation between itself and the EU, which envisions:

1) Development of small and medium sized companies;

2) that information technologies and;

3) Prevention and fighting corruption.

Let's hope that the United States will find the right incentives to get involved in this great developmental challenge. If they had the recipe for re-building divided states and the fragmented societies of Europe through the Marshall Plan, then they might not have the same recipe for us.

I never believe that our region, with all the opportunities it offers and with a strategic location in the middle of Europe, will be powerless to become a viable and prosperous space. For everyone.

Just as I don't want to believe that the European Union and the United States will allow, for our region to become a black hole in international barriers, the source of organised crime and terrorism.

I am, and I remain optimistic. With the recipe for economic development.