Prishtina, 07.09.2012 – Kosovo and Macedonia have an excellent political cooperation, which is also reflected in economy, said the Minister of Economic Development, Besim Beqaj, in the second Joint Committee meeting on economic cooperation held today in Skopje.

Minister Beqaj said in a conference with his Macedonian counterpart, Minister of Economy, Valon Saraqini, that he is confident that the cooperation will be enhanced in the private sector and that such excellent relations will also be reflected in a further increase of trading exchanges between the two countries.

“It is very important for us to enhance economic relations between the Republic of Kosovo and Republic of Macedonia, particularly considering the global and European ongoing economic crisis”, said Beqaj.

Economic Development Minister said that he informed Minister Saraqini on the recent infrastructural initiative of the Republic of Kosovo, namely to start with the construction of Route 6, the Motorway Prishtina-Skopje, which will enable our two economies to have an easier movement and exchange.

“The role of governments is to eliminate all economic barriers, including legal and procedural obstacles, to create an infrastructure enabling an easier communication”, said Beqaj.

On this occasion, Minister Beqaj emphasized the potential of Kosovo in energy, and added that the mining legislation opens way for the Republic of Kosovo to be more innovative in utilizing such resources with newer technologies.

According to Beqaj, the possibility of connecting Kosovo with the gas ring was part of discussions, including trading exchanges, production and the intention to jointly access regional markets and beyond.

From his part, Macedonian Minister of Economy, Valon Saraqini, said that the second Joint Meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation will be focused in energy, and other areas such as mineral exploitation and research, tourism, agriculture, etc.

“What I want to emphasize is that the Republic of Macedonia, in its last meeting, approved the agreement to protect investments of both countries, and it will soon be signed by the Ministers of Finances of Macedonia and Kosovo, respectively, in order to ensure that investments are more adequately addressed”, said Saraqini.

He also said that there are discussions on trading exchange, as the Republic of Kosovo is an important partner for the Republic of Macedonia, as Kosovo receives the third highest exports of Macedonia.

“This is all an indication that the two countries have a great potential, and a good opportunity to cooperate. I believe that today, with Minister Beqaj, in this Committee, there will be concrete conclusions which both ministers will process, so that by the next meeting there will be concrete results”, he added.

In the second Joint Committee meeting on economic cooperation Kosovo-Albania, which is a product of the bilateral agreement on economic cooperation, expert delegations of both countries have identified and reviewed the possibility of bilateral cooperation in energy, mining, tourism, agriculture, etc.