The conference was attended by delegations from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.
The purpose of the conference is to assess progress and create conditions for a more favourable environment for foreign investments in Southeast Europe, Austrian Economy and Labour Minister Martin Bartenstein told reporters.
Commenting on a study drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on investments in southeast European countries, Bartenstein underlined better cooperation among these countries and more investments made in them. Twenty percent of the total investments go to four countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Serbia, he said adding that Austria was the biggest investor in the region.
A state secretary in the Croatian Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, Tatjana Kesic- Sapic, informed the participants in the conference of the measures the Croatian government was implementing so as to remove administrative barriers, such as the introduction of one-stop shop.
Kesic-Sapic told reporters the conference was successful because it gave an opportunity to the eight countries to exchange experience in how to attract investors. She expressed satisfaction with the OECD report which said that Croatia had the biggest amount of investment per capita, namely 67 dollars more than the central European average.
The Vienna conference was organised by the Stability Pact and the Investment Compact for Southeast Europe, which is co-chaired by Austria, Bulgaria and the OECD.