Dear Ambassadors,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe I
would like to welcome you all to this Forum.
The issues to be discussed include small
and medium-sized enterprises policies and
Best Practice in the development of Entrepreneurship
and SMEs in two countries: Croatia and Slovenia.
Entrepreneurial roots are
common to both countries, being successor
states of the former Yugoslavia. However,
after the disintegration of the latter,
Croatia and Slovenia at the beginning followed
different paths to political and economic
transition. At the moment Slovenia is one
of the most advanced candidates for accession
to European Union with the highest GDP amongst
the newcomers, while Croatia has a longer
way to go along the road to transition in
order to have a fully-fledged market economy.
Nevertheless, the development
of entrepreneurship and SMEs is going in
the right direction in both countries. We
will have an opportunity to learn about
the differences and similarities of government
policies and compare the diversified SME-support
infrastructure in these countries.
I would like to remind
you of the four other Forums, on the Czech
and the Hungarian Experiences in 1999 and
in 2000, followed by Poland and Belarus
in 2001, respectively. In spite of the fact
that the transition process in Belarus still
faces difficulties, the Forum gave a good
impetus for continuation of transition to
the market economy not only in this successor
State of the former Soviet Union, but also
in all CIS countries. Consequently, it was
these four successful forums that led to
the organization of today's event. It only
proves that more and more countries are
becoming interested and eager to promote
and develop the small and medium-sized enterprises
in their country. Yesterday I had an opportunity
to meet with the Romanian Minister for SMEs
and I was delighted to learn that the Minister
would like to organize a Forum on Romanian
SMEs in her country. The countries that
have been presented in these Forums have
made remarkable progress towards catching
up to the world market and are currently
named as the "Emerging Market Economies".
For a successful transformation
from command to market economy, the development
of the private sector, entrepreneurship
and small and medium-sized enterprises is
a key factor. SMEs are considered to be
one of the principal driving forces in economic
development for the following reasons:
- SMEs stimulate private ownership and
entrepreneurial skills;
- They are flexible and can adapt quickly
to changing market demand and supply
situations;
- They generate employment; and
- SMEs help diversify economic activity
and make a significant contribution
to exports and trade.
Having identified the capabilities
of SMEs in stimulating economic growth,
I think that the next emphasis should be
focused on the creation of a business friendly
environment including good governance, in
which the transformation of society towards
market economy is more likely.
Another important issue
is to disseminate good practices, and especially
to help those countries which lag behind
and are as yet non-accession countries.
Special emphasis should be put on accelerating
the development of the entrepreneurship
and SME-sector in South-eastern Europe.
The activities carried out within the framework
of the Central European Initiative based
on the MOU signed between the Secretariat
of the CEI and UNECE is a good way to cooperate.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I
express my appreciation to the Governments
of Croatia and Slovenia for convening this
Forum, and wish you a very fruitful discussion.
I fully hope that the new Slovenian Government
will continue its efforts in preparing for
accession to the European Union.
I also welcome the desire
expressed by Croatia to join the EU, and
its willingness to work in this direction.
Thank you for your attention.
_______