Skopje, 21 March 2022 (MIA) – About 30 companies from North Macedonia and Greece are discussing Monday investment opportunities and ways to enhance cooperation, in the framework of the first trade mission jointly organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in North Macedonia (AmCham) and the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce. Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi said the region needs economic prosperity and strongly developed value chains in a time of crisis, adding that opportunities also emerge in crisis. “We finished 2021 with EUR 520 million in investments, higher than 2020 and close to the EUR 640 million in 2019. This means that businessmen here today see the opportunities and the Government is here to trace the path. Businessmen will find their way to success and mutual cooperation. It is now important to see the emerging opportunities and overcome this crisis resulting from the conflict in Ukraine,” said Bytyqi. He noted that the crisis would negatively affect the national economy while adding it is stable and on the rise, which represents a clear signal for investors who want to stay in the country. The Deputy PM said two of the four agreements related to the country’s accession to the Alexandroupolis gas project have already been signed, resulting in energy diversification and reducing its dependency on the Russian gas. “North Macedonia is among a few countries worldwide that secures 100 percent of gas supplies from Russia. Our involvement in the Alexandroupolis project is our response to this, because an economy cannot develop if it only relies on a single energy source,” said Bytyqi. United states Ambassador Kate Byrnes said the region has cooperation opportunities that would benefit the citizens. “The idea for a meeting of AmCham and the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce is something that I have been working on for several years and I am pleased to be here talking about the remarkable opportunities of the region, on how these countries can create business opportunities amid these challenging times,” said Byrnes. The two-day “Business Beyond Borders” trade mission involves prominent representatives of state institutions of both states, esteemed diplomats from the United States Embassies in Skopje and Athens, as well as representatives of the business communities in Greece and North Macedonia. The main goal is to explore the possibilities for new investment opportunities of direct investments to our country, increasing bilateral trade and establishing collaboration between businesses through organized B2B meetings between company representatives from both neighboring countries. The focus of the trade mission will be placed on the following key industry sectors: energy, technology/innovation, manufacturing & production, logistics, infrastructure, construction, and agrotechnology.