4th Meeting of the SEE Investment Committee, 7 April 2009

Brussels, 7 April 2009

Senior officials and policymakers gathered in Brussels on 7 April 2009 to assess the impact of the global financial crisis on the economies of South-East Europe at the 4th annual meeting of the OECD’s Investment Compact for South-East Europe, co-organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

Participants agreed that while conditions vary from country to country, many economies in the region are experiencing challenging policy conditions due to the financial crisis.

In response, governments across the region have implemented policies to address the most pressing economic imbalances, including:

• introducing tax breaks
• providing government funds to state-owned development banks
• subsidising interest rates
• injecting liquidity into the region's economies, and
• encouraging lending in local currency to prevent potential bank runs

In an effort to counter-act reform slow-down brought about by the financial crisis, all parties involved in this fourth meeting of the SEE Investment Committee affirmed their commitment to fostering regional dialogue, supporting improvement in the investment climate, and encouraging private sector development.

Documentation

Agenda

Presentations

• The Global Financial Crisis: Preliminary Evidence from South East Europe
• Current Status of the Automotive Sector, Bojan Jankovic, Deputy Director, SIEPA
• ICT in Serbia, Djordje Dukic, Secretary General, SEFICT, President of JISA, President of the Serbian Information Alliance

Press coverage

"OECD: Increasing skills in the ICT sector", InfoReview, Issue 2, 2009