Besar Durmishi: Regional market must connect companies into supply chains

Minister of Economy and Labour Besar Durmishi took part in a conference in Budva and in a ministerial meeting in Cetinje within the framework of the Berlin Process. At both gatherings he focused on ways to deepen regional economic ties and to speed the Western Balkans’ convergence with the European Union.

Agenda and priorities

Durmishi emphasised that the region already possesses industrial capacities, a qualified workforce and companies integrated with European manufacturers, but said cooperation between economies remains below its potential. Strengthening the Common Regional Market was presented as a practical instrument to turn those assets into concrete business results.

He argued the next step should be for domestic firms to link into regional supply chains and to develop products and services with higher added value. That, Durmishi said, would allow companies in the Western Balkans to capture larger shares of value created in European and global production networks.

Participants at the Berlin Process meetings discussed measures to remove remaining barriers to trade, to harmonise standards and to improve cross‑border cooperation so businesses can scale up activity across the region. Ministers described such steps as central to making the Common Regional Market deliver concrete results for companies.

Durmishi framed the discussion as both a business opportunity and a step toward faster economic approximation with the EU, stating that regional integration can complement national reforms and attract more investment into manufacturing and higher‑value services.

The minister returned from Budva and Cetinje with a programme of priorities intended to translate political commitments into practical initiatives that link firms across the Western Balkans into shared supply chains.

Photo: press material from the event