Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the Nis Business Forum:
Good day!
Let me begin by reminding everyone that today is the 14th of October.
On October 14 two years ago a football match between Albania and Serbia was being played here in Belgrade. All of you remember well what atmosphere was created two years ago. Who among us, would have imagined two years ago, in that atmosphere, the atmosphere of today’s meeting?
This meeting today is the excellent proof of how, despite the differences that we have, our relations have developed in the right direction with regard to the people on both our sides, to the people who are ultimately the main reason why we need to develop these relationships.
I want to express my very sincere rather than formal thanks to Marco whom I first met in Durres, and who has been the engine of all this enterprise so beautiful that has gathered here so many people from both sides, to give life to the joint Albania-Serbia Chamber of Commerce.
Surely, I want to thank also Luan who, together with Ines, has always done everything to accomplish this important coronation of an effort that has just began.
Along with Aleksandar we are very grateful to whom the Prime Minister rightly called our boss, Ellen Goldstein who is the Regional Director of the World Bank, which has assisted us with great passion, together with their team, to give life to a joint action plan with the aim of easing the path of trade and economic interaction, by turning it into a plan of joint tasks for the governments to reduce as many barriers that hinder the free movement of goods, and the increased trade volume between our countries, with the intention to have it extended to the entire region.
It is very clear that one of the reasons why we produce more history than we are able to digest, is that we are small, and when it comes to think of the market, our markets are too small if separated from each other, in a world that is always fierce in terms of competition. But if we manage to have those investing in Tirana, Belgrade, Pristina, Podgorica and so on, invest not just within the confines of a small market, but invest in a broad regional market, we will guarantee a historic jumps for people to develop their economy and welfare.
At the end of the day, our goal is to have the borders that separate us transformed into bridges that unite us, and on this common path of European integration we integrate our economies and give life as soon as possible to a common market that is attractive to all our entrepreneurs, but also to foreign investments.
The abolition of customs tariffs definitely requires harmonization with supporting policies for business, improvement of the business climate, encouragement, also political, to increase the movement of goods and people, but the good news is that the we have started this work the right way, and presented it together at the Paris Summit as a guide for the economic and trade growth in the region.
Yesterday, I heard a beautiful quote from someone who told me that there are in Serbia three things you should guard against; NATO aircraft, Russian tanks and Serbian administration. In fact, I assure you that our biggest problem is the administration, and we are aware of this problem. The biggest challenge in this process is not to bring you together, because you come together with an exceptional ease. Suffice to see the data of trade exchanges which sometimes follow an extremely different stream from that of politics.
But our challenge is how we can bring together the administrative will, and how we can convey it to the administration, to put it at your service, to speed up mutual recognition of customs documents, to simplify the procedures for the border crossing of goods so that companies are not required to produce the same documents twice, one for each side, by whatever institution and agency. And to do today, between us, together, what tomorrow we will be forced to do within the European Union, to behave into this space with each other, as we want to behave tomorrow within the European Union space. And neither Brussels nor any of the integration processes prevent us from doing this. Let’s gain time and do so without waiting to be part of the EU, in order to behave like Europeans with each other and allow our countries to have European relations at all levels.
On the other hand, a very important step has been taken in terms of the recognition of diplomas, and I see with pleasure that it has been materialized. But again, what is the problem? The problem is not the government. It’s bureaucracy. Meanwhile, it is necessary for us to harmonize forces also at a governmental level. Just like you are giving life today to the joint Chamber of Commerce, we will give life to a common structure that will follow closely all the issues that will certainly arise between you and our administrations.
I can enumerate here many laws that Albania has adopted to facilitate investments. I can enumerate many measures we have adopted to facilitate the relationship between entrepreneurs and the state, but at the end of the day, what remains is the challenge to transform the administration in an entity that supports and serves entrepreneurship, by fighting an inherited mentality according to which the entrepreneur is a dangerous opponent which should be kept under control, that it’s a cow to be milked rather than a key figure in our society today.
We should treat entrepreneurs, and convince our society that entrepreneurs are just like athletes, like singers, like all those whom society honours a priori. In doing so, we will help also the youngest who want to become entrepreneurs, just as they want to be footballers, singers, actors or politicians. While today, the entrepreneur is seen as a scarecrow, viewed only as a suspicious person who has always something to hide, and the administration must find out what is hidden behind this person. This is a very big obstacle. Then we complain why young people want to work in the state and why, when it comes to becoming entrepreneurs, they have difficulties which, in my opinion, start right here, in the relation with the image of the entrepreneur.
There are 100 Serb entities operating in Albania, either commercial or in direct activity. They’re modest entities, but they operate in construction, industry, tourism, services, and I assure you that if you ask them, they will say only good things about the atmosphere in which they work. They will surely say that they feel very well and see no problem in the fact that they are from Serbia.
Meanwhile, the capital investment is far below its potential and constitutes only 0.8% of all our stock of foreign investments. Whereas, the volume of trade exchanges made me laugh when I heard the figure from Aleksandar. Another big problem that we have are figures. It is very difficult even in our countries to find figures with which we agree, let alone to harmonize our figures. But, however, the figure that Aleksandar said is not far from the figure that we have, which in 2015 amounted to 180 million Euros. It’s very little, but however it is enough as a sign that it is not only possible, but is now imperative that we develop further a process in which both countries become destination countries for entrepreneurship. A process where we give life – you, not us, but we do our part – to as many collaborations and joint companies operating in our markets, but also beyond, in the regional market and why not, even further.
I want to conclude with a quote that I like very much, by a great Serbian writer Ivo Andrić: “Between fear and hope that something might happen, there is always some space, and many people spend their lives waiting in this very dark space, where nothing ever happens.”
I believe that entrepreneurs, by their nature, are those who between fear and hope always choose hope, for if they choose fear they go bankrupt. While politicians choose fear, because they’re not threatened by bankruptcy. To us you really are a great potential of an extraordinary example that things can be done, by showing everybody and by showing politics that it needs to be much closer to hope and much more away from fear, and above all it should not vegetate in the space between hope and fear.
Luan Bregasi always tells me how many businessmen have died of a heart attack, and how not a single politician has died from stroke. Certainly, going towards hope means to have a very strong heart and take risks, while living in the space between fear and hope means to never be threatened by stroke. This is the big difference.
I am very grateful that you are here, and I assure you that you are the most excellent example of how ahead people are and how backward politics is still to this day, and that it needs to go at the pace of the people and above all, if it doesn’t guide them, at least it should not hinder them.
My promise is symmetrical, equal to that of Aleksandar, – how much we will help you is to be seen – but without the slightest doubt we will be alongside you so that you do not stumble on the path towards hope.
Many thanks!
