AmCham Montenegro participated at the 2nd Regional AmCham Conference in Pristina, on May 30-31, 2014.  The first regional conference was organized last year in Albania, with the intention of bringing together the regional AmChams’ to exchange their experience with respect to doing business in the Balkans region. With the goal of further promoting the regional cooperation initiative, AmCham Kosovo hosted this conference, attended by the AmCham representatives from Albania, Macedonia and Serbia.

Closer regional cooperation will be realized through joint advocacy initiatives that where the AmChams will share ideas, experiences, and projects that are necessary an improved business climate and attracting investments. Creating a better understanding of investment potential in the region was a reason to initiate a regional study proposal – a case for investing in South-Eastern Europe. Such a study would be beneficial for all countries of the region as well as for investors searching for the right place to invest.

The regional AmCham conference consisted of panel discussions, which explored issues and business barriers present in the region as well as ways that the various AmChams are addressing such challenges. Creating an AmCham regional cooperation platform allows better and more frequent economic cooperation between the countries represented at the conference. During the conference, such issues as cross-border trading, availability of skilled labor, and tax regime were discussed as topics where the AmChams can work together to achieve better results.

As part of the visit to Kosovo, the host also organized visits to the city of Gjakova and Peja, where the delegation met with the Mayors of those towns and learned about their work to attract business.