Professor Dr. Saša Popović said that the goal of organizing the conference was to look at the economic problems of the Western Balkan region in a broader time frame and through the exchange of expert opinions and business experiences, contribute to the improvement of the national economy and strengthening of regional cooperation.
He stated that over 30 panelists, including representatives of international organizations, university professors, prominent businessmen and others, presented their views to around 300 conference participants from several countries. In addition to high-quality panel discussions, business meetings of business representatives from the country and the region were also held.
The Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, in cooperation with the Forum of Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic-Ionian Region, organized the 13th Congress of Women’s Entrepreneurship on October 10th, which brought together prominent regional experts and women from business.
Basic conclusions and recommendations that can be a good guide for the business community, policy makers and society as a whole:
Global and regional political instability significantly threatens the business prospects of the Western Balkans. The business community of the region expresses concern about the consequences of this instability on the security, psychological and economic integrity of the citizens of this region.
In addition to the fulfillment of the accession criteria by the candidate countries, the harmonization of the interests of the EU members is a prerequisite for a successful process of joining the Western Balkans region to the European Union.
Public-private dialogue has lost its intensity and quality after the COVID19 pandemic. A higher level of coordination in articulating the demands of the business community is necessary.
The low level of financial literacy of citizens in the Western Balkans region is evident, which becomes more visible with changes in development paradigms. The recommendation to financial and other institutions is to improve financial and business education in general.
The problem of economic migration from the Western Balkans to countries with better work opportunities and a higher standard of living seriously threatens the economic potential of this region. The significant human capital that the region creates is used to create new value in countries outside the region.
Entrepreneurs can preserve external competitiveness by reducing the carbon footprint of their production and service activities. This requires aid packages for small and medium-sized enterprises, which would be encouraged to reduce their carbon footprint.
Inflation is a serious problem affecting the economies of the region. A potential problem exists in the spillover of inflation from large economies to small ones, due to the high import dependence of small economies.
Montenegro business destination. Don’t go there, live there.
