Privreda
Economy
Open Balkan initiative Place worthy of investment Building a common regional market that’s free of barriers will make it easier for local companies to do business together and will render the region even more attractive to future investors from around the world “For the economy of Serbia and the Western Bal- kans, but also for companies from around the world that are increas- ingly redirecting their investments and supply chains towards our re- gion, this is a year of new opportuni- ties that have opened with the start of the building a common region- al market within the scope of the
Open Balkan initiative,” says Marko Čadež, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ser- bia and chairman of the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Fo- rum, speaking in this interview for Elevate. He says that he’s convinced that nothing will improve the business climate, ease operations for local and foreign companies that oper- ate here, contribute to the recovery and growth of the Western Balkan economies and the greater inflow of foreign investments in Serbia and the region like regional economic integration. And he considers the Open Balkan initiative as being “the best way for us to accelerate these processes ourselves”. What tangible benefits will the Open Balkan initiative bring for businesspeople? “With the establishing of a com- mon regional market without barri- ers, as a zone of the free movement of people, goods, services and cap-
ital, companies that operate here, both domestic and foreign, will be able to reduce their costs, while op- erations within the region will be rendered more efficient, productive and competitive, thus rendering the region even more attractive to the international business community, to future investors who can rely not only on the small national markets in which they will invest, but rather also on the larger common regional market. It will enable goods to trav- el throughout the region with one mutually-harmonised document, trucks not to spend hours waiting at border crossings, workers and ex- perts to be exchanged without bu- reaucratic procedures, regulations and practises in all areas of impor- tance to business to be harmonised – mutually and with EU standards – for us to work according to the same rules etc.” You stated recently that the Open Balkan initiative has been brought to life with
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