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From an economic perspective, the focus must also be on energy, especially renewable energy, basic energy and batteries, which require greater investment.
The companies also told Micoski that it was important for the government to control the spending of funds provided to municipalities.
On the other hand, the Prime Minister mentioned that the government remains a partner of business, as he said, the government will help business as much as possible within the framework of the Constitution and the law. Mikoski called on business to participate in the realization of local capital investments and apply for the financial support provided, especially from Hungary, which he said should be provided from September.
Mikoski assured the companies that the expenditure of the funds provided to the municipalities will be monitored very carefully. He explained that the money will not be transferred immediately but in stages, for which the local governments need to submit legal documents, namely the appropriate invoices for each stage of the project.
He also mentioned the loan for Hungary, of which 250 million euros are intended for economic development. He informed that at yesterday’s meeting the government tasked the Minister of Finance with the Hungarian Minister of Finance to sign the agreement as soon as possible, which will then be submitted to Parliament through a law. The Prime Minister stressed that through this operation, investment activities of 700 million euros will be completed. He indicated that the companies will receive not only 250 million euros, but also a long-unused credit line of 100 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The Prime Minister informed that the possibility of the government paying the interest is being considered so that the companies can use the principal. Mikoski expects that the companies will invest at least 350 million euros more, which is equal to the total amount of aid given to them, which will have an impact on GDP and the labor market, and will also create new jobs.
“We have the right, by law, we are perhaps the richest country, we are the leader in the region in terms of population, products and production export activity. Export-oriented SMEs should be the main focus or pillar of our economy. If big companies in small economies are not export-oriented, if they are not on the regional and world markets, then it is not good, it is not healthy to be big only in a small economy of the country. We have to change the attitude towards SMEs and motivate them to actively export”, says Petar Spaseski, owner and manager of “ASP-pak” in Ohrid.
Another paradox, Spaselski said, is that the country spends just 200 million euros on agricultural and food exports, while imports are as high as 1 billion euros.
“How are we going to feed ourselves, how are we going to survive as a country?” Spasestski asked.
The owner and manager of “IGM” – Kavadarci, Ilija Gechev, said that the enterprise wants to cooperate with the government to achieve maximum investment, as he said, the previous government failed to do this.
“We don’t want to play in the sixth league, we want to play in the first league. In this government we want to make the maximum investment, and in the previous government we failed to do that. We have potential”, stressed Gerchev.
Micoski promised the business community that one of the government’s top priorities would be transparency and honesty.
“On a separate website, citizens will be able to track the realization of the projects on a daily and monthly basis, i.e. the contractor companies, the beneficiary municipalities, the purpose of the projects. The projects in the energy sector that we outlined have been launched and are slowly beginning to be realized. Anyone who has any problems with energy projects, if someone has paid bribes to institutions, if someone has blackmailed, threatened, please report it. You have my phone, our phones are transparent data,” Mikoski stressed.
He, along with Gechev and Spaseski, received the Chamber of Commerce Award 2023. Mickoski was awarded for building partnerships, strengthening relations, and joint actions for a prosperous Macedonia, while Gechev and Spaseski were awarded for long-term Chamber of Commerce activities. EVN received an award for the introduction of advanced technologies, digitalization, and the green agenda, and USAID also received an award similar to Mickoski’s for building partnerships, strengthening relations, and joint actions for a prosperous Macedonia.
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