18/05/2005

V session of the Forum of the Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian area: Agenda and Registration Forms

The V session of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers Forum was concluded on last 18 May in Budva – Becici (Montenegro). The final documents elaborated by the thematic workgroups contain analysis and proposals about issues of common interest for Adriatic and Ionian countries: transports, tourism, agriculture, fishing and fish-farming, women entrepreneurship and environment. The event was attended by representatives of 29 Chambers of Commerce and Economy from 7 Forum member countries (Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece).

Mrs Jadranka Radovanic, President of the Split Chamber of Economy, was appointed President of the Forum by the Forum Assembly. In her greetings, President Radovanic reminded the Assembly that &quote;the intensification of interpersonal meetings and contacts, the exchange of information realised thanks to the thematic workgroups, the implementation of projects of common interest will result in an increase in trade interchange among Adriatic and Ionian countries, thus contributing to the economic development of the whole area as well as of single countries&quote;. New Vice President of the Forum was appointed Mr Giampaolo Giampaoli, President of the Ancona Chamber of Commerce, who pointed out that &quote;the work carried out by the thematic workgroup always resulted in analyses and proposals to be turned into concrete activities&quote;. In particular, Giampaoli mentioned: the initiative &quote;Co-operative societies, strategies for the territorial development of the Balkans&quote;, held on last December as the implementation of a project designed by the workgroup on Agriculture during the 2004 session; the project &quote;Actions for the Support and Development of cross-border partnership networks operating in the Adriatic area&quote;, started thanks to the strong collaboration between the Ancona Chamber of Commerce and the Marche Region and aimed to the establishment of a &quote;network of networks&quote; which would allow a more co-ordinated management of institutional relationships with Eastern Adriatic countries (beside the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers Forum, the involved institutional networks are the Adriatic and Ionian Cities Forum and UNIADRION, which includes the universities of the region); some projects involving the Forum as official partner, such as &quote;Adriatic Fishery Observatory” and “Local centres for the integrated development and management of Croatian coasts”.

The new session of the workgroups confirmed the success of the previous sessions as regards the elaboration of draft projects based on the analysis of problems and development opportunities characterising the different sectors.

The participants in the Workgroup on Tourism agreed on the need for the establishment of an &quote;Adriatic tourist region&quote; to be presented as a &quote;wide area&quote; and able to compete at the international level through the promotion of integration of local specificities and cultural and natural heritages. In order to achieve this goal, advertising materials should be elaborated promoting a unique image of Adriatic and Ionian countries, at the same time organising integrated tourist routes touching at different Adriatic and Ionian spots.

The Workgroup on Fishing and Fish Farming deems a priority the modernisation of fishing fleets in Eastern Adriatic countries. In order to deal with the obsolescence of fleets and promote their renovation both in terms of structures (fishing vessels) and consumption efficiency, the participants in the Workgroup expressed their interest in the organisation of seminar and training meetings targeted ad the sector’s operators on fishing-related shipbuilding industry. Visits to the Marche region shipyards (Marche is particularly active in the shipbuilding sector over the recent years) shall be organised with the purpose of implementing small projects aimed at renewing the fleet, to be supported by professional organisations
In concomitance with these visits it shall be also organised studies for deeply analysing the modalities to be utilised in order to reduce the company’s costs related to both investment (building) costs and running costs.

The participants in the Workgroup on Transports appreciated the results of the survey carried out by the Observatory on Sea Traffics in the Adriatic and Ionian area, showing an overall positive trend (6% growth in goods traffic and 2% growth in passenger traffic). The debate highlighted the opportunity to extend the Observatory’s activity to the analysis of transport modalities other than maritime, to issues related to integrated logistics as well as to the monitoring of all the infrastructure projects relevant to the area. The participants also agreed that the integration of the project &quote;Pan-European Corridor 8&quote; with an additional branch in the Bar-Beograd axis is strategic for the region. Such proposal could be presented to the EU Commission on Transports.

The Workgroup on Agriculture agreed on a project consisting in consultancy and training by specialized Italian technicians to Bosnian, Montenegrin and Croatian entrepreneurs, with the aim to: 1. Support the South-Montenegrin producers of fruits and vegetables in the process of warehousing and commercialisation of tangerine and pomegranate and possibily to extend the initiative to the olive oil sector; 2. Establish in Mostar a co-operative society of autochthonous wine and champagne producers and the constitution of a quality mark for safeguarding this production; 3. Stimulate the constitution in Dubrovnik and Konavli of a pilot co-operative society to operate in the fruits and vegetables sector with the purpose of overcoming the problems related to warehousing and facilitating the marketing of products even in the farther markets.

The Workgroup on Women Entrepreneurship unanimously agreed with the proposal by President Radovanic of organising the first international meeting of Adriatic and Ionian women entrepreneurs, which will represent an important occasion for the exchange of knowledge, with particular reference to innovative productions, among women-managed enterprises operating in the sectors of the Forum’s Workgroups.

Environmental sustainability is a transversal issue concerning all the above mentioned Workgroups. It finds explicit acknowledgement in the Montenegrin constitution, the only constitution in the world providing for a specific commitment.

Beside this general principle, the Workgroup on Environment insisted on the need for: developing programmes for monitoring marine pollution by means of molluscs as bio-indicators as well as to charge identified agents with controls; establishing services for controlling ballast waters, in compliance with the guidelines set out by the IMO convention; promoting the classification of the Adriatic as PSSA (Particularly Sensitive Sea Area).

Agenda

Download the final documents of the V session of the Forum thematic Workgroups – Budva-Becici (Montenegro), 17th May 2005

Download the tecnical reports presented during the plenary meeting on 16th May 2005, Budva-Becici (Montenegro)