The German Economic Team and the Foreign Investors Association of Albania organized a round table with foreign investors operating in Albania, representatives from several ministries, embassies, and foreign institutional donors on the pressing topic “Improving the Business Climate – Boosting Investment Proposals from International Investors in Albania.”
The research team from the German Economic Team shared the main findings of their study with the same title, which was commissioned and financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany upon a request of support presented by the Ministry of Economy of Albania last year. This study was conducted with the support and local coordination of FIAA.
The event was opened by speeches of FIAA’s president, Mr. Balazs Revesz and Dr. Ricardo Giucci, Team Leader, German Economic Team (GET), Mr. Thilo Schroeter, Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Albania and Mrs. Blerta Rama, Deputy Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation of Albania gave opening remarks on behalf of the German embassy and the Albanian government. Dr. Norbert Schultes, Head of the Division for Institutional partnerships (incl. EU-Twinning) and government consultancy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany made an introduction to the study.
The German Economic Team provided recommendations in the field of (i) taxation (legal uncertainty and tax compliance, tax audits, prepayments of corporate income tax and tax appeal mechanism), (ii) private sector development (financial support schemes, partnership with foreign investors, and export promotion), (iii) data privacy and cybersecurity (implementation of data protection regulation, and security of Albania’s broadband network), and (iv) general law (property rights and land ownership, and public consultation).
A very interesting and constructive discussion complemented the findings of the study, with the participation of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, General Directorate of Taxes, Albanian Investment Council, of several foreign companies that had participated in the study, and foreign donors also including the Delegation of the European Union and the World Bank.
This successful collaboration with German Economic Team marks a new milestone for FIAA as an organization working in support of a thriving business environment in Albania.
