Slims visit puts Macedonia on map of attractive destinations for investing

A visit of Carlos Slim, the richest businessman in the world, to Macedonia once again puts the country on the map of attractive destinations for investments, Vice-Premier and FinMin Zoran Stavreski told reporters Sunday after a meeting of the Mexican telecommunications magnate with the Government's economic team, led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Slim's praising of the Government's economic policy, results for the last few years, including the Doing Business ranking of Macedonia as one of the best reformers for six years in  row and its most attractive tax package in Europe, gives an impetus to our Cabinet, Stavreski said.

"For the first time in the last 20 years the richest businessman in the world has been visiting Macedonia. It is yet another proof that our activities in the economic sphere - improving of the business climate for both domestic and foreign investors - have not passed unnoticed. On the contrary, the most powerful international investors and businessmen frequently visit Macedonia, thus contributing to spreading the story about the country as a solid destination for investments," Stavreski said.

Today's meeting also addressed potential projects the Government was offering to foreign investors in the spheres of energy, real estate, mining and infrastructure.

Slim commended Macedonia's business climate, tax policy, Stavreski said. He considers that Macedonia may expect larger inflow of investments thanking to its economic polices, Stavreski added.

He said that Slim expressed greatest interest in several projects related to mining, energy and privatization of state companies.

Slim, whose wealth is estimated at US$69 billion according to Forbes magazine, is going to attend an IT conference in Ohrid on Monday. The Mexican businessman is expected to chair a meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which has been formed by the International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO.

The Ohrid event will be also attended by a top government delegation, led by PM Gruevski, who is scheduled to deliver an address at the conference.

The Commission will be convened for the first time outside the UN offices in Geneva, Paris or New York. The meeting will also include co-chair, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, as well as commission members, including CEOs of world's largest IT companies such as Intel, Ericsson, Telefonica, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies etc.