The Minister of Economy and Labor, Besar Durmishi, held a press conference for the media today, where he informed about the competences and activities of the Ministry of Economy and Labor.
At the beginning, Minister Durmishi expressed gratitude for the trust given to him to manage the Ministry of Economy and Labor.
"As Minister, I promise that during my mandate I will work tirelessly to achieve the goals and promises given to citizens and businesses, which is to improve the business climate and living standards. From today on, I will focus through the creation of measures and policies to start a new cycle for economic revival of the state and improvement of labor rights" said Durmishi.
The Minister clarified that under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Labor, with the new reorganization, the main focus will be: strengthened support for industry, creation of measures for micro, small and medium-sized companies, increasing the competitiveness of business, the internal market, trade, as well as support of employers, creation of employment measures and policies, improvement of the labor market and protection of labor rights.
"In the area of investments, we will continue with financial support for investments for domestic and foreign companies, which is regulated by the Law on Financial Support of Investments, a Law that is under our authority. We plan to revise the procedure and conditions for awarding state aid in the direction of a greater amount of support for domestic exporting companies and companies from sectors with a competitive advantage. In the area of the competitiveness of companies, we will work on an overall concept to support the competitiveness of the Macedonian industry, green and digital transformation of the industry, circular economy and strengthened cooperation with the academia for knowledge transfer, research and development and innovation.
In communication and dialogue with the business sector and the Chambers, we will work on creating a common vision for the challenges faced by companies on both the domestic and export markets. We will create new measures that will result from the requests of the companies. We will be the main voice of business in the Government to convey their requests, needs and priorities in order to create more competitive companies, more competitive economy, and thus new investments that will create new jobs," Durmishi said.
According to the Minister, the focus will remain on micro, small and medium enterprises, which are the most numerous in the domestic industry. The finances and measures we will create for micro, small and medium-sized companies will increase.
"We will focus on full infrastructural and logistical support of the industrial zones. Foreign investors, the business sector, employers and Chambers will be consulted when making all legal decisions, and we will be their cooperation partner. Workers' rights and the labor market will be our new challenge to which we will give maximum commitment. My priority will be the promotion of workers' rights, protection of workers' rights. With the new reorganization and the acquisition of the Labor sector under our authority, the business and the workers will be connected in one whole.
With this connection, it is possible to see and hear all the factors in one production process, Durmishi said and added that in accordance with the Government's program, through the Employment Agency, which now with the new reorganization comes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Labor, we will develop programs that will be aimed at measures for employment of young people, creation of skills and qualifications, training and retraining of vulnerable categories, training and skills needed for the labor market, support for entrepreneurship, as well as co-financing of training for the use of new technologies , for which a budget of EUR150 million will be provided.
"The Employment Agency will grow into an effective intermediary between workers and employers. We will make a complete reform of active labor market measures so that the real effects can be achieved. The implementation of these measures will be through an inclusive process by integrating the business community, the chambers with the Employment Agency. We will make a complete systematization and optimization of the laws and by-laws that regulate the field of labor policy and social protection policy," stressed Durmishi.
The Minister announced that in the coming period he will submit a request to the State Audit Office for a full audit of the Ministry of Economy's operations starting from 2015, when the last full audit of the Ministry's operations was done by the State Audit Office.
"The goal of this audit is for us and the entire public to see how things were done during the previous Government," said Durmishi.