Prime Minister Edi Rama attended a meeting held on 21 April that introduced a support package for the active processing industry – otherwise known as the garment industry.

This package, reflection of a new economic model for Albania, is fundamentally different from the previous approach that saw the country thriving on remittances and public debt. What the newly-installed system is doing in this respect is to replace those previous factors with new economic ones.

The model in question will build on several pillars, including domestic production, foreign direct investment and restored economic efficiency that will lead to a normal economic and business operation, based on a collaborative partnership between the government and entrepreneurship.

The garment industry package is the first of its kind targeting the active processing industry in Albania, with its most distinct feature being that, for the first time, support for a sector is developed in line with its own demands. To that end, we first started with collecting the opinions of interest groups themselves.

Overall, the measures of this package aim to produce considerable quality improvements that lead to increased exports, in an effort to achieve a volume of more than 80% within three years.

Of 46 measures and proposals considered so far, some have already been implemented, including the endorsement of CMD No.54 on awarding a one-Euro contract to active processing plants, in a bid that will save an average of $2.5 million in rent for the business.

Another key focus of this package is the connection between the development of garment industry and increasing of employment. For this reason, a series of measures will be taken to increase the number of declared employees from 28,000 to 100,000 people in three years. The Employment Fund for the garment industry will amount to $ 5 million by the end of this year.

This package is only the beginning of innovation in the active processing sector, with the initiative being extended to the entire economy to ensure a sustainable economic growth at a rate of 5%-6%.

With this package, Albania has officially placed itself on the map of producers targeting the European market, not simply as a close spot, but mostly as an important open area for active processing industry.

(… to be continued)