VIENNA VIENNA, July 18 (Hina) - A ministerial conference of south-eastern European countries, organised by Austria's ministry of economy and labour and the OECD, began in Vienna on Thursday.
VIENNA, July 18 (Hina) - A ministerial conference of south-eastern
European countries, organised by Austria's ministry of economy and
labour and the OECD, began in Vienna on Thursday. #L#
At the beginning of the conference, Austrian Economy Minister,
Martin Bartenstein, said the foreign capital was needed for the
economic revival of the countries in the south-east of Europe.
It is up to those countries as well to create favourable conditions
for the attraction of foreign capital, he added.
Bartenstein said the foreign investment in the south-eastern
European countries had totalled 4.4 billion dollars in 2001, while
Poland alone received eight (8) billion dollars of foreign
capital.
A special co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe,
Erhard Busek, said the economic progress in the countries in the
region was conditional on direct investments.
In this context he pointed to the importance of a declaration on
joint principles for the attraction of investment, which should be
signed during the Vienna conference.
It is important for the countries in the region to attract direct
investments and they must take resolute steps in the field. Foreign
investors see the region as a whole, Busek said adding that the
countries in the region must have a long-term strategy for the
stimulation of foreign capital.
The declaration would be treated by foreign business people as a
sign of the willingness of the countries in the region to struggle
for the foreign capital, Busek said and called on the said countries
to enhance their cooperation.
The deputy secretary-general of the OECD (Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development), Richard Hecklinger, said
the closer regional cooperation would make it possible for the
countries in the region to come closer to European integration
processes.
He described south-eastern Europe as the real destination for
foreign investments.
The declaration is an important step, but the process must go on in
the promotion of investments, Hecklinger added.
Present at the conference are Croatia's Economy Minister Hrvoje
Vojkovic and his counterparts from south-eastern European
countries: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia,
Moldova, Romania and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. They are
expected to sing the joint declaration.
(hina) ms