Why diaspora fears investing in Kosovo

Diaspore and Strategic Investments Minister Dardan Gashi in an interview for Online Economy has said the diaspora is the biggest investor, but legal issues often undermine the work of foreign investors to operate here.

“In 2017 the diaspora has contributed somewhere with 740 million remittances in Kosovo, according to other estimates elsewhere about 300 million others as expenses that have not gone through bank systems that have not gone into private hands. We believe somewhere over 1 billion is the diaspora's direct contribution annually. The state budget is about 2 billion which is that half of the state budget in a way comes from the diaspora, so the diaspora contribution is vital to our country, is not something that brings little or much weight, but is vital and equal to the contribution of our citizens here in terms of economic development”, Gashi said.

Gashi said the diaspora investment challenges in Kosovo are the same as local investors, he emphasises that mostly as a problem and investment challenge are the legal issue, where for a certain course in the court it needs the investor to expect 3 to 4 years.

The main aspect is investment judicial uncertainty, investment protection. One cannot invest in Kosovo whether it is local, international or diaspora when a course in court is expected by 3-4 years and more to resolve a judicial context involving an investment or economic financial conflict”, Gashi said.

This is the number one problem facing and fearing even classic foreign investors and our countrymen, but Kosovo citizens themselves who are often reluctant to invest. Kosovo banks alone deposit our citizens are over 3 billion, and our citizens living in Kosovo are reluctant to invest”.

He also said that because of problems Kosovo has with bureaucracy and conditions that have not been able to offer different companies for investments, often certain companies start operating in neighbouring countries and do not invest in our country.

According to him, for this reason this ministry has been established and the Strategic Investment Law has created facilities that have long needed Kosovo, reports EO.

He also said investors have been given relief in purchasing property, and their prices are the same as Western countries.

“We can, land, social property or municipality give up to 99 years to exploit an investor who guarantees that I will employ a certain number of people in us and that it will not close the factory before certain years”.

All of the licenses and permission to take over land or other business facilities that are in public property will be taken over by the state of Kosovo, and not the investor, that all of these facilities are being done in order to get us an investor who across the region has great development that unfortunately Serbia is one of the states that has a tremendous development in terms of investment growth, Macedonia and we are also very behind<1.