The ratification of the free trade agreement with the EFTA countries, the agreement of 30 million euros of investment for industrial parks and direct support for 54 businesses are some of the main achievements that the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation presented in the report of 100 working days.

The Acting Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, during a media conference, where she presented the summary report of her 100 days of work at the head of this ministry, said that the agreement with EFTA constitutes an important economic step for Kosovo, as it also includes trade in services.

“This is the first agreement from the states of the region that, in addition to trade in goods, also includes trade in services. It is of particular importance to us due to the fact that we have a positive trade balance with countries like Switzerland, with which more we sell or export services than we import”, stated Kusari-Lila.

She announced that during this period draft laws related to innovation, entrepreneurship and late payments in commercial transactions were processed, as well as the procedures for the creation of a new agency for entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We have approved the law on temporary measures of basic products in case of economic crises, while we have already reached the government and the parliamentary committee before to go to the Parliament, to approve the bill for innovation and entrepreneurship. This bill is of special importance for, in particular, as an objective for the growth of the European Union. We have also submitted for approval another bill of great importance for small businesses and in particular local manufacturing businesses, she said. for the development of industrial parks in Mitrovica, Lipjan, Drenas, Podujevë and Shtime, while preparations have also begun for the industrial park in Gjilan. According to the fair, a 30 million euro investment has been agreed for the development of these parks.

In support of the private sector, she said that the ministry has offered grants to 54 businesses in the field of digitization, innovation, certification and increasing production capacity.

She also announced the launch of the “Buy Safe” platform in July, a platform that, according to her, will enable citizens to report irregularities in the market.

When asked about the trade deficit and the increase in imports from Serbia, Kusari-Lila said that the consumption of Serbian goods is not increasing.

“In general, the consumption of general goods from Serbia is not increasing, and this is positive news… 10:21… What is very important for us is the focus on increasing the replacement of imported goods in general, while the focus on reducing the trade deficit, yes, I agree, it is high, and we are given a special pressure and push by the fact that we have to work more on promoting both local production and the replacement of imported goods, while the first and fastest step with which we are doing the analyzes that can replace imported products is related to all contracts in public procurement. services. But with this, it is necessary in the entire spectrum of assistance for local producers, starting from the increase in quality, competitiveness in prices, and other measures”, she said. Meanwhile, speaking about the issue of monographs and the compensation of citizens from KESCO, she said that the ministry has imposed fines amounting to about 200 thousand euros for misuse and expired monographs, while the compensation of citizens remains the responsibility of the Office of Energy Regulator.

“Regarding the issue of units, the Ministry has been very active with the inspectorate and the Metrology Agency. Now, if I’m not mistaken, the value of the penalties that have been imposed respectively in relation to units that have expired or have been misused… 14:55… From our side to the protection of the consumer and the imposition of fines for non-compliance of the order for proper service by KESCO, the obligations have been fulfilled. The rest is now with the agency which deals with the regulation of the energy market”, she said.

Kusari-Lila added that the ministry has also supported 55 Kosovar companies in seven international fairs in Germany, France, Switzerland, Turkey and Italy, where over 1100 “Made in Kosovo” products have been promoted.

Source: prizrenpost