ZAGREB, Feb 6 (Hina) - The state secretary at the Central Office for Strategy, Ante Babic, has advocated accelerating economic development so that income per capita by 2007 could amount to US10,000.
ZAGREB, Feb 6 (Hina) - The state secretary at the Central Office for
Strategy, Ante Babic, has advocated accelerating economic development
so that income per capita by 2007 could amount to US10,000.#L#
"To arrive from the current 6,000 to 10,000 we will have to change a
lot, learn team work, tie big and small companies, establish a network
of regions," he said on Friday at a panel debate on a development
strategy for Croatia which was organised by the European Movement
Croatia.
Babic highlighted the importance of exports, developing
entrepreneurship, reforming the educational system, connecting local
communities with state structures, and creating centres of regional
development.
Speaking of the dangers which could halt development, he mentioned the
balance of payments deficit and the external debt. He is against the
devaluation of the domestic currency and believes that devaluation
would lead to a 30 percent jump in the debt's share in GDP.
Goran Radman, a member of the National Council for Competitiveness,
said the Council was about to propose to the government a set of
measures aimed at increasing competitiveness.
Babic and the prime minister's advisor on science, academician
Miroslav Radman, underlined the importance of know-how.
Zeljko Lovrincevic from the Economic Institute warned about the
pessimism prevalent in Croatia, which he said was surprising since it
had never been clearer what had to be done. "Does it take that much
effort for Croatia to depoliticise public administration, to invite
applications for managers of public companies, to realise that this
many cities and municipalities are not viable?" he asked.
(Hina) ha