South East Europe 2020 strategy adopted

 

SARAJEVO, 21 November 2013 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević and Goran Svilanović, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council co-chaired today's Ministerial Conference of the South East Europe Investment Committee dubbed “Jobs and Prosperity in a European Perspective”.

The Head of the EU Delegation/European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Peter Sorensen addressed the participants at the beginning of the conference. During the Conference the South East Europe 2020 strategy was adopted in its entirety .

The event brought together economy ministerial delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, representatives of the European Union and other regional and international partners and initiatives, international organizations, and donor community.

The South East Europe 2020 strategy consists of five pillars: Integrated Growth, Smart Growth, Sustainable Growth, Inclusive Growth and Growth Management.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is dedicated to regional cooperation and the SEE 2020 strategy is a challenge for all countries to achieve the goals they have set," said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarevic.

She pointed out that:  “The strategy does not belong to one party only, it belongs to all of us and we have to be more committed to the realization of the goals that we jointly established."

SEE Strategy 2020 provides great opportunities for development of the Region, with the support of the EU and the good cooperation between the governments and regional structures, the implementation of this strategy will improve the standard of living and create opportunities to create jobs, which is its main task.

The first activity of the Signatories in the implementation process of the Strategy is to prepare action plans, which should indicate how the goals will be achieved at the state level. The European Commission has offered technical and financial assistance for the preparation of plans, after which it will enter the implementation phase. RCC will coordinate efforts, and ways of implementation in the coming years. Implementation of the strategy will be included in the progress report presented every year for each country of the region.