Interview with the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania, Enio Jaço

Voice of America: Mr. Jaço! 20 years since its establishment, what is the balance of the American Chamber in Albania?

Enio Jaço: I think that the American Chamber of Commerce has been very productive during these 20 years. It is one of the institutions with the clearest structures that I have seen in Albania, with a clear vision, completely in defense of the rights of its members and the business community in general. It is a politically independent institution, but the most important thing is the product that the American Chamber of Commerce has been able to create and offer Albania and the business community during these 20 years.

I think that it has had a high impact in defense of the market economy, the principles of the market economy, has always denounced unfair practices, has promoted transparent practices and has continuously influenced towards improving the business climate in Albania.

Because of this contribution, I think that our Chamber has created a broad alliance with a large number of companies, representing about 38 thousand employees, about 2.8 billion turnover and a joint balance sheet of these companies, which is about 21 percent of the Albanian GDP, of the Albanian economy.

I take this opportunity to offer the members of the American Chamber of Commerce that we have the general assembly next week. I invite everyone to register, exercise their rights and make their contribution towards the best and most democratic corporate governance in AmCham.

Voice of America: Last week, the Albania-US Memorandum of Economic Cooperation was signed, where the emphasis is especially on investments and business relations between the two countries. Will AmCham have an increased role after this?

Enio Jaço: I think this memorandum is one of the most important since the 90s in terms of Albanian-American economic cooperation. First of all, I will talk a little about Skavica, which is part of this memorandum, which provides a new impulse for the Albanian economy in general. This is very good news for the Albanian economy. Now that the TAP and Devolli projects are nearing their completion, the Skavica hydropower plant will provide a new impulse, it will provide a large number of jobs for Albanians. It will also provide job opportunities for Albanian subcontractors, including members of the American Chamber of Commerce. But it is more than that. At the same time, Skavica provides Albania with energy independence, but also enables it to be a leader in the region in terms of energy.

Secondly, this memorandum testifies to the economic interest that the US has in Albania and in the region. This is also very good news.

Third, in relation to the American Chamber of Commerce, there is an element that combines and increases the need for other exchanges. We have started working internally on improving the business climate. Also in our relations with our international partners, first of all with the American Chamber in Washington, as well as with the wide network of AmChams. There are over 109 AmChams around the world and there are many opportunities to increase economic cooperation and increase investments.

Voice of America: Given the problems that the business climate in Albania has today, where do you see the opportunities for increasing the presence of American investors?

Enio Jaço: The business climate is more important than ever at this moment. If until now we have a trade balance with the US, which has been below its potential, now we have the opportunity through this memorandum to increase this potential to perhaps the highest levels in the Balkans. Who can prevent the achievement of this potential? One of the reasons could be the business climate.

We publish an annual report on the Chamber Index, which has received a lot of attention. Last year we had a broader problem than in other years. We have created a group of experts within AmCham, which is working seriously on addressing these problems, through the construction of a package of recommendations. This is a group, which will work with both foreign and domestic experts, we have established very constructive relationships with the relevant ministries, with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, as well as with the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, who are our government partners to further this cooperation. I think there is a will, but I would be a cautious optimist regarding the implementation of these recommendations, so we will see in the coming months.

One of the main elements has been monopolies and unfair trade. This is something that we have always discussed. Also, strengthening human capital, in such a way as to precede the challenges of the market economy in the conditions we are in. The challenges are changing; we are facing some extraordinary challenges for Albania and the world, such as COVID-19 et., which was given a

an extraordinary negative impact on all businesses. This will create a reconfiguration of the market in the way businesses will continue to operate, how they will provide their services, and this requires a workforce that must be equipped with other qualities. I would not like to talk too much, because some of the obstacles have been made public, while new obstacles are being studied and will be published at the end of the study.

Voice of America: Does the Agreement on the Normalization of Economic Relations between Kosovo and Serbia offer opportunities for Albania to exploit?

Enio Jaço: The Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and I think it is of another rank, of another dimension, of another scale, incomparable to what we have been talking about so far. First of all, it will offer a transformation in the relations between Serbia and Kosovo. But here there is also a positive impact for Albania. This is an agreement, which has a project inside, which creates a giant infrastructure, which connects Serbia with Kosovo in a commercial way, but which has an exit to one of the ports of the Adriatic Sea, it could be one of the Albanian ports.

If this happens, then it means that this transforms Albania into a kind of regional center in terms of regional trade, with a broad perspective with a very high impact. I think it will be an extraordinary potential and it will be the task of politics and the private sector to make this reality possible.

The project has not started yet, other additional agreements will be signed. I think that AmCHam members find themselves perhaps a little more than other businesses, they will always be interconnected with other American Chambers. We have very good relations with American Chambers in the region: in Kosovo, in Serbia, in North Macedonia, etc. The spirit of cooperation will always be there and offering work to subcontractors, who have a relationship and are part of the network, will be something plus, something positive. Of course, this is an opportunity for other Albanian businesses as well.