A session of the Exporters Club was held at the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, where the Chamber’s new export concept was introduced, aimed at addressing all issues related to the promotion and support of exports and export-oriented companies.

The session was opened by Branko Azeski, President of the Chamber and Chairman of the National Export Council (NEC). In his address, Azeski emphasized that the Chamber has been working for some time on building a new approach and strategy to support the domestic export sector and companies through a new concept based on three interconnected pillars:

1.     NATIONAL EXPORT COUNCIL (NEC), a national advisory body established under the Private Sector Regional Integration Support Activity (PSRISA) implemented by the Chamber in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This platform for public-private dialogue will provide institutional support for companies, fostering greater internationalization of Macedonian businesses. The Council includes over 30 successful export companies from various sectors and representatives from the government and relevant state institutions. The Council addresses issues such as the country’s export competitiveness, support mechanisms for export companies, trade regulations to facilitate exports, etc.

Prof. Dr. Darko Lazarov, President of the Exporters Club, highlighted that the Chamber will use a set of well-designed instruments and modern tools within the new concept to provide concrete support to Macedonian export companies in their efforts to enhance competitiveness, seek new partners, enter new markets, and achieve greater visibility internationally.

As part of the second agenda item on staffing, Dr. Lazarov proposed the election of two additional vice presidents of the Club, alongside the current Anatol Kutrevski from PEKABESKO AD Skopje. The attendees unanimously elected:

• Evgenija Gjorgjieska – LAMINATI KOM DOO Prilep
• Zoran N. Iliev – AKTIVA DOO Štip

The digital export platform EASY EXPORT was also introduced at the session. Created through the USAID project of the same name, the platform provides useful information for export companies, including databases of trade intermediaries by market, legal and regulatory requirements, tariff and non-tariff barriers, support calls, useful analyses, and more. Additionally, the EASY EXPORT platform includes an Export Directory containing digital profiles of over 1,000 Macedonian export companies.

Jasmina Majstoroska from the Ministry of Economy and Labor of the RNM presented the ongoing support measures available for export companies, accessible at: https://www.economy.gov.mk/mk-MK/oglasi.nspx

Biljana Peeva-Gjurikj, PSRISA project manager, presented three active calls for export-oriented companies aimed at increasing competitiveness and supporting the development of export capacities, available at: https://www.mchamber.mk/mk/news/index/605

Dr. Lazarov concluded the session by announcing that at the next NEC meeting, one of the discussion topics will be the implementation of the Export Promotion Strategy of the RNM (2023–2027), which aims to systematize all challenges and issues faced by exporters and present them to the Exporters Club members for further consideration and proposed solutions.