AATDA - Albanian American Trade and Development Association

Corridor VIII sign - main square, Durres

Corridor VIII LED Project

Goals and Objectives:

The main project goal is to promote Balkan regional economic development by supporting continued development of Transportation Corridor VIII, together with local government and private sector involvement in that process through the practice of local economic development strategic planning and project implementation. The aim is to take advantage of the significant potential for regional economic growth and job creation that development of the Corridor represents.

Objectives for this project will be to:

Support and expand the network of co-sponsors and participating localities and business associations along Transportation Corridor VIII in the form of a regional alliance of such entities from all the nations involved.
Design and implement an advocacy program for continued support of the transportation Corridor from national governments and international donor agencies.
Provide training in local economic development for participants leading to the development, adoption and implementation of local economic development plans along the Corridor.
Identify and develop economic development projects among the participants, across borders, which relate to increasing business development along, and taking advantage of, Corridor development.

Expanded pavement laid along Corridor

Background:

Transportation Corridor VIII is one of the Trans European Network Corridors recognized by the European Union. The Corridor VIII development project is an internationally recognized plan for development of highway, rail and pipeline links between Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Many of the components are already underway, but many more remain unfunded. The “masterplan” for the development of the Corridor was detailed in a 20-year plan commissioned by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency as part of the Southeast Balkan Development Initiatives Program in 1998. It is being carried out through funding provided by a number of international donor agencies as well as the governments of Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Linking the Adriatic Sea Ports of Durres and Vlore in Albania to the Black Sea Ports of Burgas and Varna offers substantial development potential to the countries involved and the Southern Balkans as a region.

The goal and objectives for this project are derived from the outcomes of the “Local Economic Development Along Transportation Corridor VIII” project that supported a regional conference and training program held in Struga, Macedonia on June 24 to 28, 2000. Over 100 individuals representing five countries along with representatives of a number of international organizations took part. The outcomes of the conference included resolutions to develop a permanent network of localities and private sector organizations along Corridor VIII, to actively engage in advocacy for full funding of Corridor development, and to promote local economic development, including cross-border trade and business development. The Mayors of Sofia, Skopje and Tirana signed a tripartite agreement, the Capital Cities Declaration, to work mutually towards Corridor development.

Highway expansion in Albania near Macedonian border

Project Implementation: The project will be carried out through the implementation of the following activities. These activities are all inter-related, but can be categorized as follows:

1. Network Development

This task is being conducted by AATDA/US and AATDA/Albania. It is comprised of a program of personal visits and communications between co-sponsors in Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia, as well as nearby Kosovo, Italy and other countries. Regular communications are being established by e-mail and through development of an interactive website program for this project within AATDA’s website, www.albaniabiz.org. We will also establish an information program that includes a newsletter and regular information bulletins that will be distributed by e-mail.

Initially, the network membership included the participants in the first LED Corridor VIII conference in Struga. Since then, the Executive Directors of AATDA/US and AATDA/Albania have conducted networking visits to Macedonia, Kosovo, and Bulgaria. During those trips, co-sponsors of the Struga conference were personally visited, along with new potential co-sponsors. These organizations will form the basis of the network together with the capital cities of each country that were signers of the Capital Cities Declaration (Tirana, Skopje and Sofia). Original cosponsors included ZELS municipal association in Macedonia, RIINVEST in Kosovo, and The Foundation for Local Government Reform in Bulgaria. Still others are joining.

New bridge under construction along Corridor

We are in the process of establishing active links with participating jurisdictions, including local governments and local business organizations from jurisdictions along the Corridor, as well as national government agencies who have responsibility for or a vested interest in Corridor development such as the ministries of transportation and local government in each country.

Finally, we are in the process of reaching out to potential stakeholders from other countries neighboring on the Balkans that can benefit from Corridor development. Organizations interested in being part of this network are urged to contact us by email at aatda@engl.com (see “Contact Us” section of this website for other alternatives).

2. Advocacy Program

The Advocacy Program will be designed for two purposes: (1) to advocate for a sustained international focus on the full funding of Corridor VIII, with continued priority given to its development over rival priorities that may develop through the Stability Pact process or other centers of international decision-making, as well as with individual international donor organizations; and (2) to promote local economic development along the Corridor. This aspect of the program will include making presentations and directing communications to national, regional and international bodies that have policy and regulatory authority over economic development issues and funding for economic development programs.

LED Along Corridor VIII Conference - Struga, 2000
Panel on Local Economic Development with Mayor Sofianski, Sofia, and Tom England, AATDA US

The Advocacy program will include the development of media for the purpose of communicating our message. This media will include printed, video and audio products for radio and television as well as for personal presentation purposes. Placement of public service announcements will be made on radio and television outlets in each country through the cooperation of our co-sponsors and participants; and information kits will be provided to alliance spokespersons.

3. Local Economic Development Program

The centerpiece of the Struga conference was training in local economic development. LED is essential for local governments and private sector organizations to make themselves relevant players in the business and economic development processes that affect their communities. How the LED process works, how localities can organize to effectively carry out LED, and how localities and private sector organizations can join in partnership to carry out LED are all themes that were introduced during our Phase I project in Struga, and will be further advanced during Phase II.

This component of our program will consist of four sub-components, including:

Assessment of individual community knowledge of LED and whether (or to what extent) LED organization and strategies have been implemented.
Technical bulletins and information distributed to all participants on LED progress in other localities.
Sponsorship of LED joint projects between localities along the Corridor

LED training and technical assistance workshops, to be included in the Sofia conference agenda

Mayor Sofianski, Sofia, and Brojka, Tirana, discuss Corridor VIII plans for their capital cities at Struga Conference

4. Project Identification and Development

If one concern was paramount during the Struga conference, it was the impatience of participants from both the public and private sectors to get moving on specific projects related to economic development. This impatience was most directly related to the pressure that public officials and community leaders felt to do something concrete to relieve unemployment in their cities.

One of the most important objectives of this project will be to identify specific projects related to economic and business development, especially those that involve participants across national borders. These projects could be related to organizational development; joint planning exercises; infrastructure development (supplemental to direct Corridor construction); or business development and labor skills training, just to name a few.

Our objective will be to assist the participants to develop such projects, with ideas being presented and prioritized before the Sofia conference, then fleshed out in project development sessions during the conference. We will strive for complete project descriptions and plans by project end. These plans will then be promoted with funding agencies for financing, as part of the advocacy program outlined above.

Mayor Abbrescgil Bari, Italy, presents gift to AATDA AL Exec. Dir. Gafur Luga at Struga Conference on Corridor VIII

5. Regional Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria

The most important single event in the project will be a second conference on the theme of “LED Along the Transportation Corridor VIII.” This conference is planned to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria in late 2002, and hosted by the Municipality of Sofia in cooperation with the Foundation for Local Government Reform. The main program elements will be to brief the participants on Corridor development, its status, schedule and plans; to explore local economic development through expert training and other presentations; and to further develop our Corridor VIII alliance. More specific plans include:

Corridor Updates. These will consist of briefings on Corridor developments, with presentations by leading officials and experts from international donor agencies and from national ministries.
Local Economic Development. This will include workshop sessions on how to develop a local economic development strategic plan. It will also include sessions related to the identification of specific projects that will be promoting trade and business development along the Corridor, especially cross-border projects. In addition to LED training, presentations will be added that specially relate to such economic development activity as regional trade and tourism.
Alliance Building. We will feature a presentation related to alliance building, including the establishment of a coordinative body of representatives of different organizations to serve as a policy and steering mechanism to guide the alliance and this project in the future.

This project is supported by a grant from the Local Government Reform Initiative Program of the Open Society Institute.

Capital Cities Declaration On Transportation Corridor VIII Development Project

Whereas, the East West Corridor VIII Transportation Development Project linking the ports of Bulgaria on the Black Sea and Albania on the Adriatic Sea thorough Macedonia has been planned and is now being implemented; and

Whereas the Corridor VIII Transportation project provides for new and improved roadways, railway and port improvements and possible pipeline construction; and

Whereas, the Corridor VIII project is vital to economic well-being of our cities and our nations and holds the prospect of increased regional economic and social cooperation; and

Whereas, the Corridor VIII project will provide a closer link between the capital cities of Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia; and

Whereas, international financial support of the complete corridor development is still not yet firmly established; and

Whereas, the mayors of the Capital Cities of Skopje, Sophia and Tirana play an important leadership role in their respective countries;

Now therefore be it Resolved, That the Mayors of the Capital Cities reaffirm their efforts to continue an alliance to cooperate between themselves and on behalf of the other municipalities that was established in the first Capital Cities Resolution signed in Struga in June, 2000, and in cooperation with the national governments in their respective countries, to advocate for continued financial support of the Corridor VIII project; and

Be it further Resolved, that the Mayors of the Capital Cities will take continued steps to coordinate further organizational efforts among local governments and their business communities throughout the region to provide support for the Corridor VIII Project.Signed:

Mayors of the Capital Cities

Conference On Local Economic Development Along The Corridor VIII
Sofia, Bulgaria
29 May 2003

Resolution

Whereas, over the past two days, over 100 participants, including led along Corridor VIII network members and other stakeholders incuding local elected and appointed officials, representatives of business organizations and local businesspersons from across the region have met in Sofia, Bulgaria on 27-29 May 2003,

And whereas, these participants were from municipalities and other jurisidictions located on or near the route of the Corridor that would connect cities on the Adriatic and Black Seas by highway and rail, and

And whereas, the participants are dedicated to the principals of local economic development and cross-border cooperation, and

And whereas, during this time, the participants heard briefings on current progress, future plans and prospects for the Corridor, and participated in workshops in local economic development, networking, advocacy and alliance building and heard presentations on a number of topics related to business and trade along the Corridor, and

And whereas, cross-border project concepts were discussed and recommendations for action on implementation of these projects were recommended.

The participants meeting in business session hereby resolve to:

Continue the process of local involvement in the Corridor VIII development process.
Continue the development of cross-border projects along the Corridor
Take individiual and collective action, in coordination and support of national government efforts, to advocate for full funding of Corridor development by international funding agencies
Meet again within six months to further develop activities in alliance with one another, and
Continue efforts to bring other stakeholders from other countries into this Corridor VIII support process.
Reaffirm their commitment to continuing this effort across borders until final completion of the Corridor is realized.
Form a sustained and organized association called the “led along transporation Corridor VIII association” to carry out the objectives outlined herein, as described below:

A. The association structure will be comprised of a policy-making body called the network policy board, national-level coordinating committees, and subcommittees as designated.

B. The network policy board will consist of at minimum three representatives from each country involved in the network, including the local government association, the capital city and the private sector.

C. The network policy committee will meet from time to time at places and times to be mutually decided, but at minimum at least once per year.

D. The association will hold a conference at least once every two years to set organizational policy and for other activities. The conference location will be alternated among the participating countries along the corridor.

E. Each participating country will establish a coordinating committee from the three participaing groups from their country, to hold meetings from time to time to coordinate national level policy to be advocated to the association policy board, and will appoint subcommittees to carry out association activities as they require.

F. The network will solicit resources from various sources including international, national, and private sector sources.

G. The AATDA US will continue to serve as the secretariat and manager of the association until such time as the association policy board will select a local secretariat from the region.

H. A task force is hereby appointed, one from each participating country, to detail the working bylaws or rules of the organization. A report to the policy board will be due in two months. The task force will include one organization at minimum from each participating country.