MTI signs agreement to reform Kosovo inspectors

International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry have signed the Co-operation Agreement for Project “Investment Set in Kosovo II”, which amounts to 2.3m euros and concerns reforming business inspections and providing good services to investors.

Trade and Industry Minister Bajram Hasani has expressed happiness in signing this agreement, which, according to him, will give the best international experiences in various areas.

As he announced that this project was financed by the Swiss Government, which has contributed to the wider investment climate project, which will be implemented by 2020.

We are very happy today to sign a technical assistance agreement from the IFC, an agreement that amounts to $2.3m. For us this project is very important because it is the second phase of implementation of this phase and it affects certain areas in which MTI has priorities, as in the field of doing business, that will help us a lot in this area because we have to deal with the ministries of the lines and we lead as MTI. I believe that the very progress Kosovo has achieved in doing business, I believe it speaks of the need that we can always be better”, Hasani said.

Hasan announced that a strategy for direct investment in Kosovo will soon be drafted by foreign investors, preserving those currently owned by Kosovo.

He stressed that through this project reforming inspectors will also become, lowering the number to simplify administrative procedures and providing better services to investors.

There are approximately 42 inspectors at the country level today, where they are thought to be reduced to 15. We have made the working group and I believe that this assistance that will be given will have the best international experiences to come to reform, because the number of reforming these inspectors affects many different fields and will be a very good step for our country because there will be a full co-ordination of the “Inspectorate, he added.

Thomas Lubeck, regional director of the IFC for the South Caucasus, said the unemployment rate remains the main challenge for Kosovo, until optimistic that the project signed today will bring more investors to the country.

There are numerous inspectors and over 150 different regulations, and I fear that Kosovo is more or less left behind with other countries in the region. The purpose of this project is to have more efficient direction and the important inspection work done by these agencies can become much faster and business spending can cost much less, not only in financial context, but in time, in their daily work, recruiting, investing, employing people”, he said.

While Damien Shiels, World Bank representative, indicated willingness to support reforms in Kosovo. While stressing that providing new jobs is the key step Kosovo should take, focusing also on free competition and innovation.

For us, Kosovo has made some major progress in reform and doing business, and it is very important to keep this moment in place. And as you can see, implementation is at lowering the burden for businesses in achieving successes and ultimately job creation, which is the central part that Kosovo must achieve. One of the other things we want to do is internationalisation of the country, to testify that it is open to competition and new investments”, he said.

In the end, he stressed that the World Bank has gone through a major process to make the refocus of its strategy, which has to do with additional support for Kosovo.