The representative of REDAH participated in the regional conference in Kotor, from October 9 to 11, 2023.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Federal Minister of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Vojin Mijatović addressed the opening of the CORE DAYS 2023 regional conference.
This conference brought together a large number of government representatives, as well as mayors, from Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conference is also attended by representatives of the Council of Europe, IFC, GIZ and other international organizations.
Since the corona virus pandemic, i.e. in the past three years, the economies of the region have grown economically by about 10 percent, while in the EU the growth was about three percent, it was said at the opening of the CORE days international conference in Kotor, where the first regional index on the conditions for sustainable economic development. The index includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, and Serbia, which together make up a market of almost 20 million inhabitants and a total GDP of almost 200 billion euros. The report states that for even faster economic growth, it is necessary to improve the business environment in the entire region.
At the opening of the meeting, the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, spoke, who emphasized that he advocates and promotes good neighborly relations.
The opening of the CORE days conference was also an opportunity for Niš, Paraćin, Stanari and Srbac to receive a certificate of favorable business environment (BFC SEE) and thus join the network of 44 local governments from the entire region that were certified in the last cycle.
- The new, IV edition of the BFC standard, published this year, pays special attention to digitization, sustainable and socially responsible development, environmental protection, encouraging innovation and EU integration at the local level. More than 60 cities from the entire region applied to acquire this prestigious seal of quality and enter the new regional competition, with the exchange and application of reform solutions that form the essential path of the region towards EU integration - stated Violeta Jovanović, executive director of NALED and reminded that this program has been successfully implemented in the region since 2012.
The conference CORE days 2023 - Smart and green growth - local, regional, European, was organized by NALED in cooperation with other members of the Partnership for a Competitive Region with the support of the Swedish Government implemented by Sida and German Development Cooperation implemented by GIZ.
The Partnership for a Competitive Region (CORE Partnership) represents a platform for dialogue and exchange of the best reform solutions for the sustainable development of the region. The partnership gathers more than 20 institutional partners from the territory of the Western Balkans and Croatia, including new members - the Association of Local Autonomies of Albania from Tirana and the Institute for Development Research Riinvest from Pristina. It was created in 2022 as an upgrade of the Network for a favorable business environment, which in the previous 10 years worked on improving and harmonizing business conditions in the region through the BFC certification program.
