Minister for Foreign Investments Bill Pavleski took part Monday in Washington at business forum "Macedonia - Most Competitive European Business Destination", hosted by the Macedonian Embassy to the United States.

Minister Pavleski presented before representatives of U.S. companies the possibilities for investing in Macedonia, as well as the country's benefits. He referred to the latest World Bank "Doing Business" report, the latest Index of Economic Freedom, as well as other economic indicators that make Macedonia one of the most competitive business destinations in Europe.

Minister Pavleski focused on the crucial economic indicators that give Macedonia economic and financial stability, absence of trading barriers, along with easy access to all western European countries and all markets.

Moreover, Pavleski emphasized that Macedonia has highly-educated loyal workforce, adding that the country's inflation level is stable.

He said the ICT, tourism and energy sectors were the most attractive for investments.

"Macedonia's priority with regards to foreign investments was the attraction of larger companies that would invest in industrial zones, resulting in the opening of plants in the automobile industry, electronic industry and machinery-technology. However, Washington is mainly a political and consultancy region having no heavy industry. Therefore we offered certain industries in the IT sphere, and financial industry for outsourcing development", said Pavleski after the forum.

He added Macedonia has enormous potential for tourism development, but also energy projects planned in the coming years. Pavleski expressed hope that the good image of Johnson Controls would contribute to the attraction of other U.S. companies to Macedonia.

"A second wave of investments could occur in Macedonia, i.e. companies that invested in regions offering favorable conditions 10-15 years ago, such as Poland, Czech Republic and other southeast European countries, which now cannot offer these benefits because they are part of the EU. Macedonia is one of the most attractive places in the region that can offer good conditions. We are currently conducting an analysis of the eligible companies we could attract to invest in Macedonia", stressed Minister Pavleski.

Agency for Foreign Investments director Visar Fida also addressed the forum, presenting the target sectors for foreign investments - machinery and automobile components, ICT, healthcare (production of medical devices and pharmacy), agriculture and food processing industry, textile sector and cultural tourism.

Macedonia's Ambassador to the U.S. Zoran Jolevski, Heritage Foundation Center for International Trade and Economics director Terry Miller, World Bank expert Zeljko Bogetic, and Mark Stuckart from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is the U.S. Government's development finance institution, also took part in the forum.

A concert marking Macedonia's 20. independence anniversary was held after the forum, including the performances of baritone Boris Trajanov, pianist Boban Markovski, and guitarists Venko Serafimov and Aleksandar Ikonomov.

Minister for Foreign Investments Bill Pavleski took part Monday in Washington at business forum "Macedonia - Most Competitive European Business Destination", hosted by the Macedonian Embassy to the United States.

Minister Pavleski presented before representatives of U.S. companies the possibilities for investing in Macedonia, as well as the country's benefits. He referred to the latest World Bank "Doing Business" report, the latest Index of Economic Freedom, as well as other economic indicators that make Macedonia one of the most competitive business destinations in Europe.

Minister Pavleski focused on the crucial economic indicators that give Macedonia economic and financial stability, absence of trading barriers, along with easy access to all western European countries and all markets.

Moreover, Pavleski emphasized that Macedonia has highly-educated loyal workforce, adding that the country's inflation level is stable.

He said the ICT, tourism and energy sectors were the most attractive for investments.

"Macedonia's priority with regards to foreign investments was the attraction of larger companies that would invest in industrial zones, resulting in the opening of plants in the automobile industry, electronic industry and machinery-technology. However, Washington is mainly a political and consultancy region having no heavy industry. Therefore we offered certain industries in the IT sphere, and financial industry for outsourcing development", said Pavleski after the forum.

He added Macedonia has enormous potential for tourism development, but also energy projects planned in the coming years. Pavleski expressed hope that the good image of Johnson Controls would contribute to the attraction of other U.S. companies to Macedonia.

"A second wave of investments could occur in Macedonia, i.e. companies that invested in regions offering favorable conditions 10-15 years ago, such as Poland, Czech Republic and other southeast European countries, which now cannot offer these benefits because they are part of the EU. Macedonia is one of the most attractive places in the region that can offer good conditions. We are currently conducting an analysis of the eligible companies we could attract to invest in Macedonia", stressed Minister Pavleski.

Agency for Foreign Investments director Visar Fida also addressed the forum, presenting the target sectors for foreign investments - machinery and automobile components, ICT, healthcare (production of medical devices and pharmacy), agriculture and food processing industry, textile sector and cultural tourism.

Macedonia's Ambassador to the U.S. Zoran Jolevski, Heritage Foundation Center for International Trade and Economics director Terry Miller, World Bank expert Zeljko Bogetic, and Mark Stuckart from Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is the U.S. Government's development finance institution, also took part in the forum.

A concert marking Macedonia's 20. independence anniversary was held after the forum, including the performances of baritone Boris Trajanov, pianist Boban Markovski, and guitarists Venko Serafimov and Aleksandar Ikonomov.