Prishtina, 29.06.2016 – The Ministry of Economic Development, in the course of activities to fulfill the Government’s objectives, is committed to develop and strengthen the mining sector, considering it the most important pillar of the country’s sustainable development, said Blerand Stavileci, Minister of Economic Development, in the round table on the topic “Corruption risk assessment in the extracting industries:  Findings and recommendations”, organized by UNDP.

On this occasion, Minister Stavileci said that the Government is in the process of creating a ‘one-stop-shop’, which is a step towards improving the business environment for investments, but these investments must always have a social and environmental component.

Minister Stavileci said that the Department of Mining in the Ministry of Economic Development is committed to develop policies and strategies for the mining sector to ensure that mineral resources are used according to the standards, taking due attention to social and environmental aspects, with a functioning legal framework to facilitate mining sector operations, increased investment in this sector and with full transparency and accountability.

Minister Stavileci further said that the objective of the Government is to gain membership in EITI (Initiative for the Extractive Industries Transparency), adding that this membership will influence the increased transparency and accountability in the mining sector in Kosovo.

On the other hand, Alessandra Roccasalvo, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP expressed her support for Kosovo institutions in order to see economic growth.

“We want to help ministries to ensure the legislation is in place and make appropriate adjustments to ensure that anything that takes place in Kosovo benefits Kosovo’s economy and the public,” said Roccasalvo.

Patrick Etienne, Director of Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo, confirmed the support of the Swiss state to Kosovo’s efforts in the fight against corruption. “We support anti-corruption efforts in Kosovo and are contributing jointly with UNDP to this program,” said Etienne.

Otherwise, the UNDP report gives recommendations on what measures should be taken to address the issues that are at high risk for corruption.