The Balkan Summit in Prishtina is creating opportunities for businesses, financial institutions and policymakers to exchange information, identify development priorities and explore investment opportunities in Kosovo and the wider region, according to Arian Zeka, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo.
Speaking ahead of the summit on October 19, Zeka emphasized the importance of bringing together economic stakeholders to discuss development needs and potential projects in Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia.
“Prishtina and Kosovo lack events of this kind, where different stakeholders from the business community, financial institutions and economic decision-making bodies come together to discuss development needs,” Zeka said.
He stressed that improving foreign investors’ access to information about the economic potential and investment opportunities of Kosovo and the Western Balkans was essential for attracting capital to the region.
“Investors have limited information about Kosovo and the wider Western Balkans. Conferences such as the Balkan Summit naturally enable better information exchange among all the stakeholder groups I mentioned,” he said.
Infrastructure development is among the key topics on the summit’s agenda. During a plenary session on transport titled “Moving the Corridor: Roads, Railways, Tunnels and Bridges in Europe,” Zeka highlighted the importance of concrete discussions on infrastructure projects and sectors with significant development potential.
He said he hoped the discussions would address energy, transport, investment attraction and the financing needed to implement major projects.
Zeka also underlined the importance of involving international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), alongside government-backed financing institutions.
According to Zeka, their participation could help ensure that discussions go beyond identifying development priorities to examining practical financing options for projects intended to support economic growth in Kosovo and the region.
The summit aims to bring together public and private-sector stakeholders to improve regional cooperation, strengthen investors’ understanding of the Western Balkans and explore opportunities for economic development.
