SETimes.comRegional conference targets organic production
16/05/2012
Representatives of several countries in the region gathered in Skopje to help promote organic agriculture. Also in business news: Sarajevo is hosting its third annual Business Forum and Croatia's economy is expected to shrink by 1% this year.
Skopje opened the 6th Organic Production Conference of the Mediterranean Organic Agriculture Network on Tuesday (May 15th). The network unites the agriculture ministries of 24 European and Mediterranean countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The three-day event aims to promote the exchange of information and good practices in the sector, and to promote joint strategies for future development.
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The construction of what is set to be the world's third longest tunnel kicked off in Turkey at the weekend. The tunnel, which will cut through the Ovit Mountain, will eventually exceed 17km, and will connect the districts of Rize and Erzurum. Authorities believe it will boost the economy of the Balkan Sea region and lead to higher port utilisation.
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Serbia is Bulgaria's main rival in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI), Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev told an investment conference in Sofia on Friday (May 11th). He noted his country has lost several major investments over the past year or so to competitors from Serbia, Hungary, Macedonia and Turkey.
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Sarajevo is hosting its third annual Business Forum from Wednesday (May 16th) to Friday. The event, which aims to present Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region to international investors, will feature more than 130 projects in the field of infrastructure, energy, agriculture, tourism, construction and finance.
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Cyprus announced on Friday (May 11th) it has received 15 offers from 13 countries for exploratory drilling in a second round of licensing to exploit offshore oil and gas deposits. Authorities said the interest exceeded their expectations. Candidates include France, Israel, the UK, Russia and Canada.
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Foreign direct investments in Turkey jumped 76% last year reaching $16 billion, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (May 11th). According to him, between 2002 and 2011, the country has attracted FDI worth $110.5 billion.
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Croatia's economy will shrink by 1% this year, Central Bank governor Zeljko Rohatinski warned last week. He noted structural reforms are needed to boost to GDP growth, which was flat last year.
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The EU economy is currently in a mild recession, but a gradual recovery is in sight, the European Commission said in its 2012 Spring Economic Forecast, published on Friday (May 11th). Of the member states, Greece is at the bottom, with its GDP expected to shrink by 4.7% this year. Cyprus will register a negative growth of -0.8%, while Bulgaria and Romania will be in the positive territory with 0.5% and 1.4% respectively, the commission predicted.
(Various sources -- 09/05/12-16/05/12)