One Third of Kopaonik Business Forum Program to Be Dedicated to Western Balkans and Potentials for Growth

A third of the program of the Kopaonik Business Forum, which will be held between March 6 and 9, 2022, is dedicated to the Western Balkans and the region’s potentials for further growth, the organizers announced today.

– A tighter cooperation between the countries in the region, green transition and sustainable development will be the main topics about which the participants will talk and exchange opinions – the announcement says.

It is added that, this year, the “Serbian Davos” will also gather all the directors of international financial institutions for Serbia, among which are the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the presidents of the chambers of commerce of the countries of the region have all confirmed their participation. The president of the Serbian Association of Economists, Aleksandar Vlahovic, said that, according to the January report of the World Bank, a moderate growth of 4.1% in 2022 was projected for the Western Balkans.

– With the projected growth recovery, it is predicted that the poverty rate in the Western Balkans will continue on its downward trend. However, the overall positive outlook for this region is still jeopardized by the risks pertaining to the potential return of the restrictions related to the pandemic and, consequently, the exhaustion of the fiscal space and the growing level of the public debt – Vlahovic said.

He added that the policy of the countries of the Western Balkans needed to focus on solving the key structural obstacles to the creation of jobs and economic transformation.

According to Vlahovic, the countries of the Western Balkans are facing an inevitable green transition.

Savez ekonomista Srbije Beograd

EBRD Evropska banka za obnovu i razvoj Beograd

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

Serbian Association of Economists

Aleksandar Vlahović

Kopaonik Business Forum

IMF

EBRD

IFC

World Bank

Serbian Davos

Western Balkans

growth

green transition

sustainable development