In his remarks, PM Rama said that today’s meeting marked the beginning of a discussion and interaction process to jointly identify all the bureaucratic links and the excessive administrative procedures that need to be eliminated.

“The initiative is designed to jointly further improve business climate. I think you are all aware about the latest outlook for Albania from the international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s that assesses the rating of every country in terms of their progress and economic outlook,” PM Rama said.

The government head noted that for the first time, the Standard & Poor’s has upgraded its outlook for Albania from stable to positive.

“This is a very significant signal for what we have delivered as of today and a very encouraging signal about what we can further do,” he added.

The Premier told entrepreneurs that it was time to jointly refocus and conduct a detailed analysis on the measures to improve business climate.

“We have already embarked on a performance analysis within the government bodies and institutions to review all the procedures to figure out what can be further relaxed and eliminated. However, this would be an incomplete exercise if, based on your daily experience and your interactions with the government institutions, we do not receive your feedback and viewpoint on how these procedures written on paper how to obtain a license, permit or certain document, are translated into everyday reality and which of them actually hinder the interest of the state instead of helping it, and whether these procedures hamper the business climate,” PM Rama added.

/u.sh/

Ibrahimaj noted that for years now, the Albanian government has been focusing on ways to ease service delivery to businesses and service digitization via a one stop shop, including platforms e- Albania, e- procurement, e- taxes or the portal of the National Business Centre that have helped in significantly reducing doing business time and the business relations with the state institutions in Albania.

She underlined that despite progress, there is room for further improvements.

“A large number of licenses are now issued by the National Business Centre. However, a number of licenses and authorizations are somehow uncalled for, since we think that after having established the e-registers, a part of the documents are to be found at the state institutions and we should relieve business from having to obtain them,” Ibrahimaj said.

The State Minister said that public service delivery to business has been eased by 64 public institutions.

She urged business associations to table their proposals for the re-engineering process of the public service deliver in order to further cut deadlines and procedures and improve business climate in the country.

/u.sh/