Today, on 17 December 2021, a summary meeting for 2021 was held by the Ministry of Regional Development (MRD) with the support of the Kosovo Local Government Institute (KLGI). The topic of this meeting was "Achievements, strategic orientations and challenges in the field of balanced regional development".

Participants in the meeting were: Representatives of line ministries, Kosovo Agency of Statistics, Association of Kosovo Municipalities and municipality mayors of: Prizren, Ferizaj, Gjilan, Peja and Gjakova. Also, guests and participants in the meeting were: representatives of international partner organizations: USAID, UNICEF, CARITAS, GIZ, EBRD, OTKT, as well as representatives of local partner organizations: five (5) regional development agencies (RDAs), Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and Producers Club. Due to the measures in force to combat the pandemic covid 19, the number of participants was limited.

Meeting was opened by the Minister of Regional Development, Mr. Fikrim Damka, who greeted all participants and stressed that 2021 was a successful year for the Ministry of Regional Development. During this year, we have managed to prepare our strategic orientations and compile and publish policies with an impact on balanced regional development in Kosovo. Approval of the Strategy for Regional Development 2020 - 2030 by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, has ensured a very good basis for planning and development in the field of regional development in the coming years. As a result, we have finalized this year the Draft - Law on Regional Development, which is in public consultation and which we believe will soon be approved by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo. We have developed and implemented programs that have had a direct impact on regional socio-economic development, through the support of 16 municipalities to advance public infrastructure and stimulate the economic development. We have given a considerable support to businesses, through grants and by doing so we have managed to offer you some help even in this difficult time with pandemic covid 19. Implementation of these programs has impacted on expansion of the capacity and increase of exports in relation to imports. This year alone, 136 business projects have been supported by the Regular Balanced Regional Development Program and the Program for Economic Recovery and as a result, 387 new jobs have been created. We have supported 32 projects of civil society organizations, and we have cooperated throughout the year with CSOs, where we have involved their representatives in policy-making consultative processes, and in order to increase transparency and professionalism, we have also included them in the evaluation processes of project proposals of businesses and CSOs.

Ministry of Regional Development, throughout the year has cooperated with all line Ministries and the Kosovo Agency of Statistics regarding the collection and reporting of data pertaining to the investments of line ministries in development regions. Also, cooperation with municipalities and regional development agencies has been continuous. Cooperation with strategic partners and jointly achieved results have taken a special place in the work and successes of MRD achieved in 2021. We thank: EBRD, USAID, GIZ, UNICEF, CARITAS and other partners. It is worth mentioning the memorandum of cooperation reached with Swiss CARITAS, for implementation of two (2) very useful projects that will have an impact on advancing the socio-economic development of all development regions in Kosovo.

Participants were also greeted by Mr. Valmir Gashi - Executive Director of KLGI, who on behalf of the KLGI presented the will and readiness to continue cooperation with MRD and stressed the promotion of equal development in all development regions ;for increasing the competitiveness of regional economy and employment, by supporting balanced local regional development and for increasing the efficiency of strategic planning in function of regional development.

Mayors have welcomed this meeting by emphasizing that they will engage and cooperate with MRD, in drafting policies that contribute to socio-economic development of the country, as well as to realization of projects with the regional impact.

At the end, Mr. Besim Kamberaj - Secretary General of MRD presented the achievements in the field of regional development during 2021, strategic orientations and plans for 2022, and quoted: this year we had great difficulties and challenges, where the main one was dealing with covid pandemic 19. In 2022, we will work on completing the legal package for regional development. We will establish an efficient system for monitoring of balanced regional socio-economic development to measure regional performance. Our  strategic goal is also participation and membership in regional initiatives.

Meeting was concluded by reaching a joint agreement by all actors to cooperate in 2022, in order to eliminate regional inequalities and advance the balanced socio-economic development between the regions in Kosovo.