Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Mrs. Rozeta Hajdari, during November 9 and 10 was on an official visit to Austria, accompanied by government colleagues and representatives of the Access project to support new enterprises, funded by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo and the Austrian Development Agency.
The main meetings on November 9 and 10, 2021, with the participation of Minister Hajdari, include:
- The bilateral host meeting with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) where Minister Hajdari, accompanied by Ambassador Lulzim Pllana in Vienna, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Mr. Mentor Arifaj, Advisors Mr. Lulëzon Jagxhiu and Mrs. Leman Hatashi, were received by the Vice President of WKO, Mr. Philipp Gady and the Director of the Chamber for Southeast Europe, Mr. Gred Dückelmann – Dublany. The meeting discussed the priorities of the program of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for sustainable socio-economic development, in close cooperation with the friend country Austria, which aims to strengthen our economic relations, especially investment and trade.
- Bilateral meeting with the Federal Minister of the Republic of Austria for Digital and Economic Affairs, Mrs. Margarete Schramböck, focusing on increasing cooperation in promoting Austrian investments in Kosovo, increasing trade volume between the two countries, and cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship, with an interest in Austrian experiences in the digital transformation of enterprises and the creation of ecosystems. In this meeting, Minister Hajdari stressed that it is in strategic interest to attract as many companies from Western Europe, especially from German-speaking countries where our diaspora contributes to the rapprochement and networking with European businesses and asked for the support of Mrs. Margarete Schramböck to helpe bring Kosovo on the radars of major investment firms in Austria. The meeting ended with a positive response of Minister Schramböck to the invitation of Minister Hajdari, for her visit next year in Pristina, as head of the Austrian delegation for the meeting of the Joint Economic Committee Kosovo-Austria and the meeting planned by the Federal Chamber of Commerce of Austria, at the same time.
- Participation in the Business to Business Forum (B2B), where Minister Hajdari along with colleagues from KIESA presented the competitive potentials for investments in the Republic of Kosovo, while the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced European companies to consider increasing their resilience production against unexpected circumstances through diversification of supplies, shorter supply chains, closer geographical locations, higher production at home, and increase of inventories. This forum was attended by Kosovar start-up businesses funded by the Access project and businesses from Austria, which continued with bilateral meetings and networking in the field of ICT.
- Meetings in the field of ICT with representatives from WKO, where they discussed the support of the Austrian Government and important digital applications from WKO related to the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises and the support of new enterprises. From the WKO representatives, the delegation was informed about the latest development support programs in the framework of Digital Transformation. Some of these practices are already being implemented through the Digital Empowerment Initiative, provided by KIESA in collaboration with the Access project. Another important topic was the Founding Service or "Gründerservice" and the initiative called "Startup Now", used by WKO, to support local businesses. All these experiences were important in terms of further enrichment of the Kosovar platform "My Business" developed through assistance from the Access project, whose main goal is to support growing companies in performance and competitiveness. Relevant experiences were also exchanged, where new opportunities for cooperation were identified between the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade.
- Formal dinner hosted by Mr. Peter Lennkh, Member of the Board of Directors, responsible for Corporations from Raiffeisen Bank Intl AG, with his colleagues in charge of Investments, and the Director, Anita Kovacic, for Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo. The topic of discussion was the Electronic Signature, the possibilities for the 'Country Rating' evaluation for investments in Kosovo, taking into account the Kosovar competitive potentials, for investments closer to the shore (nearshoring), which aroused high interest from the Board members Raiffeisen Bank Intl AG, for participation in the Joint Economic Forum Austria – Kosovo, in 2022.
- At the end of the visit, the Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Mrs. Rozeta Hajdari in cooperation with the Ambassador to Austria, Mr. Lulzim Pllana, hosted a meeting of Kosovar businesses and citizens living and operating in Austria, with whom they had a close conversation about the developments and new opportunities for the Republic of Kosovo. During the meeting, Minister Hajdari informed the participants about the bilateral meetings held during the official visit to Austria, regarding the issues raised for doing business in Kosovo, addressing the need for better coordination, to increase investment and production in Kosovo and improving the trade balance by increasing exports from Kosovo to Europe.
