Albania to take initiatives for development of SMEs

Milva Ekonomi, Albanian Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship, said on Wednesday that the government is committed to and has taken a number of initiatives for the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

Present at a meeting featuring "Index of policies of small and medium enterprises in the Western Balkans and Turkey for 2016," the minister said programs for financial support and campaigns against irregularities are served as the aid for SMEs.

Jan Rudoplh, representative of the Delegation of the European Union, emphasized the importance of judicial reform and said Albania has significant challenges in implementing the law, property rights and the fight against corruption, which are important to improving the business climate.

Anita Ritcher, project manager of the Eastern Europe Division at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said Albania has made improvements in some aspects, but the index shows that there is still need for other interventions, the Albanian Daily News reported.

"It has to do with entrepreneurial skills, the promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the so-called green economy and innovation policies of this category of enterprises," added Ritcher. Endi