Deputy PM in charge of economic affairs Vladimir Pesevski and Benjamin Mohr, team leader at the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), signed Tuesday a cooperation memorandum for technical assistance in relation to the program on sustainable and inclusive regional economic growth in the Republic of Macedonia.

Over EUR 950,000 has been provided by the government, the ministry of local self-government, GIZ and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to implement the program on sustainable and inclusive regional economic growth.

“These funds are singled aside to conduct activities throughout 2016 that are set to contribute to significantly reducing disparities existing between the eight planning regions in Macedonia so as to enable better living conditions for the citizens in all of the regions in Macedonia,” stated Pesevski.

The program, he added, focuses on three areas. The first area covers activities related to the development and launch of a software for coordination when planning policies, budgeting and implementing programs on equitable regional development.

“The second area includes ways to improve the transparency in regional councils and increase the participation of citizens and businesses while planning and reaching decisions at regional level,” the Macedonian Deputy PM said.

Activities envisaged in the program’s third component are expected to contribute to strengthening the capacities of the centers for development of mountainous regions and their regional partners with regards to drafting concrete projects for specific areas, obtaining grants or other types of support from various sources of financing.

With the program on regional economic growth being implemented in the past couple of years, 38 technical projects were designed in cooperation with GIZ for all planning regions. More than EUR 500,000 were intended for their development and it is estimated that their implementation could cost over EUR 70 million.

“The government continuously is increasing direct funds set aside for this program. Funds in 2016, compared to 2014, are increased five-fold – from one million to 5 million euros for 2016,” Pesevski said adding that more than 420 projects had been supported in all eight planning regions since the start of the program.