Experts: Investors are leaving, Government to deal more with state promotion

They call for the Government to deal more with state promotion and to work harder on fixing the image.

Former director of the Kosovo Economic Ode (OEK), Safet Gerjaliu, in a proposal for Online Economy has said Kosovo has been in crisis over its reputation and that the Special Court has largely damaged it.

He added that the country's image is also being damaged by the non-invention of agreements from dialogue with Serbia and the reporting of international newspapers concerning these processes.

According to him, all of this will cause damage to the next generation as investors are leaving.

“The truth is that Kosovo is in a reputation crisis and the Special Court has damaged it to a large mass, the process itself, and the very headlines of international newspapers are the ones that are damaging Kosovo's image. A country where each day you have a dialogue with Serbia and a crisis of dialogue or not implementing closed agreements, and on the other hand we have the Special Court, it's a damage generations will pay, because every day more and more investors leave. A lack of political and economic stability is promoted, and when all of this is added to this campaign that is taking place in the international environments and the beginning of this process I believe is a sequence of this negative current created around Kosovo”.

He called for more work to promote and improve the image according to him, Serbia is making diplomatic and cultural aggression to tarnish the country.

Gerjaliu stressed that the negative effects for the country will be in a period of time until this process is completed.

“I believe that it is the time when we have diplomacy, we need to have greater commitments to promote Kosovo to improve the image. On the other hand, the bitter truth must be understood that Kosovo has an unscrulous opponent. The very fact that the court in The Hague begins the judicial process against KLA leaders, at different European centres promotes the film about the green house, so you see what diplomatic, cultural aggression uses Serbia to tarnish Kosovo. This process is a very anxious circumstance that is hitting Kosovo and the negative effects will be in a period of time until the” process is complete, he said.

Economist Jakup Bellaqa also said that the trial process at The Hague will create a negative image for the country and that this process will affect the economy where we will have the departure of foreign investors.

“In cases in this trial, Kosovo Liberation Army leaders will certainly create a negative image for Kosovo, and it particularly affects economically that foreign investors lose confidence to invest in Kosovo. Even those investors who are in Kosovo can create a kind of distrust, a kind of uncertainty in the climate of doing business”, he said.

He called for institutions to work on creating positive opinion and image in foreign investors, which, according to him, will create confidence and climate doing business, EO reports.

And we as a new state with an undeveloped economy need to create an opinion and a positive image in foreign investors in order to develop confidence and climate doing business. Confidence and positive image would positively influence Western investors to invest more in Kosovo. It is important to invest in the electricity sector because it is still a problem that is not solved”, he said.