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Special Coordinator
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South Eastern Europe
 Rue Wiertz, 50
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Phone: +32 (2) 401 87 00
Fax: +32 (2) 401 87 12
Email: scsp@stabilitypact.org

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Enterprise Development and Employment Generation

Seminar on Regional Aspects of Promoting Enterpreneurship and Employment in South Eastern Europe, Skopje, 9 November 2004

The Seminar on Regional Aspects of Promoting Entrepreneurship and Employment in South Eastern Europe, held on 9 November in Skopje, was organised in direct response to the recommendation of the Bucharest Conference on Entrepreneurship and Employment of 26 and 27 May. Heeding the call for the creation of a template of practical implementation measures on regional development strategies, the WTII Secretariat, in co-operation with the Investment Compact Initiative and the Initiative for Social Cohesion organised a one-day Seminar that brought together officials and experts involved in FDI Policy, SME development, employment policy and social dialogue. The Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia kindly hosted the event which was also supported by the Governments of Norway and Germany.

The three workshops that formed part of the seminar focused on measures required to put regional development strategies in place, establish local support structures and linkages, and deal with industrial change and restructuring. The seminar concluded that while many countries have strategies for SME and enterprise development, little progress has been made in ensuring that these trickle down to the local level. Regional and local economic development strategies, if they exist, are in the very early stages of implementation. The expected impact of strategies can be diminished by several issues, including a lack of capacity among officials at national and local levels, and problematic intra –ministerial, agency and private sector co-operation. The value of community-based measures to expedite economic development were noted and a number of practical ways to improve communication at regional, national and local level were discussed. In follow-up to the Seminar, a template of community-based measures based on the discussions is being formulated.


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