Minister Bushati attends Western Balkans Ministerial meeting on good governance and interconnectivity

 attended the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Economy of the Western Balkan countries with the Vice President of the European Commission for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Jyrki Katainen and EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Štefan Füle. The meeting was held in Belgrade, as part of the initiative to enhance cooperation within the Stabilization – Association Process and follows a meeting in New York, on 24 September 2014. The representative of the EU Italian Presidency and the Secretary General of the RCC were also present at the meeting. 

The meeting focused on the cooperation of the countries of the region in the field of economic governance and infrastructure interconnectivity, as well as on the coordination between these countries through the preparation of national programs for economic reform. 
 
Noting that this activity comes after the Berlin Conference, Minister Ahmetaj stressed the need of EU financial assistance to enable the implementation of infrastructure projects, which are necessary for creating jobs and achieving economic growth. With regards to countries of the region, Minister Ahmetaj stressed that coordination of structural reforms and fiscal policy would result in sustained economic growth and alleviation of imbalances between countries in the region.  

Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Mr. Enver Hoxha, described the meeting as historic, given that it is the first time that a Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo visits Belgrade. After underlining the importance of all-inclusiveness in regional cooperation processes, he requested that the next meeting of the initiative take place in Pristina. 

During the meeting, Minister Bushati underlined the importance of joint efforts to advance the agenda of the Conference of Berlin through tangible projects. He welcomed the new approach of the European Commission on economic governance in the region, as well as the financial instruments that will be made available to countries in the region in the framework of the IPA funds and from other international financial institutions. Minister Bushati expressed Albania’s commitment to further progress in structural reforms in the framework of the new regional and European efforts.