TIRANA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Balkan region has high potential for foreign investment, especially in the sector of tourism, Albanian Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship Arben Ahmetaj said Thursday.
He made the remarks while addressing the second panel at the Vienna Economic Forum held in Tirana, the Albanian Telegraphic Agency reported.
Innovative and integrated strategies are needed to attract FDI (foreign direct investment) in order to reduce the gap in development between the European Union and the western Balkans, according to Ahmetaj.
He believed tourism was one of the sectors highly attractive to FDI, and called for coordinated efforts among countries in the region.
\"Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are small divided markets, but the region has a considerable number of consumers,\" he noted.
He pointed out countries in the region have similar natural beauties, and proposed a tourism route along the coastal line linking Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece.
