23-24 November, 2011
OECD Conference Centre, Paris
The 2011 Ministerial Conference brought together Ministers and High-level representatives from South East Europe to endorse a new 2020 Vision for South East Europe. Participants commemorated 10 years of the Investment Compact and celebrated the transition of its management to regional partners.
Ministerial panels discussed:
- Creating a single regional market and deepening co-operation on investment-related issues
The small size of the region’s economies, their specificities and idiosyncrasies, the narrow supplier base and insufficient level of basic skills all constitute real barriers to the development of foreign direct investment in South East Europe. Despite CEFTA achievements such as the abolishment of tariffs, the region cannot yet call itself a unified market. Leveraging the assets of the region in a cooperative way would boost investment; creating value chains across the region would enable optimisation of production in the context of global competition. This session explored ways in which the region can focus and coordinate reform efforts to leverage its comparative and competitive advantages.
- Laying the foundations of a knowledge economy
Competing on low labour costs is not a sustainable avenue for competitiveness. Only a move up the value chain will enable the region to compete in a sustainable way and create more, and better, higher-paying jobs. This session focused on how governments can effectively enhance investment in human capital development and retention, and implement policies which favour the creation and absorption of knowledge in SEE economies.
Photo: OECD/Benjamin Renout
Conference Documents
For more information, please contact Mr. Alan Paic (alan.paic@oecd.org), Principal Administrator, Investment Compact for South East Europe.
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