Press Release

[Index]

Obstacles to enterprise development in the “catching-up economies” —
UN experts meet next week in Geneva to find a way forward

International Conference
“Reducing Barriers to Entrepreneurship and Encouraging Enterprise Development: Policy Options”
Palais des Nations (Room VII), 18-19 June 2007, 10:00-18:00

Geneva, 15 June 2007 -- National and international experts from the UNECE region meet in Geneva next week to address the main problems confronting business operators and small companies in the so-called “catching-up economies” of the UNECE region^*.

In these economies, business operators often find it difficult to set up and operate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Bureaucracies can be inefficient and taxes high, and regulations cumbersome. The financial markets are also underdeveloped, and access to enterprise finance is limited. This international conference will address these and other major obstacles to enterprise development and promotion in these countries. It will also review the country policies aimed at improving SME access to foreign markets.

The conference will include a round-table discussion on fighting corruption, which will focus on cross-cutting issues in public policy and governance. Participants in the debate will include government officials and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

On the basis of good practices identified at the conference, participants will develop recommendations to government bodies in charge of enterprise development.

The conference is organized under the aegis of the UNECE’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration.

For further information about the conference, please contact the organizers:

Iouri Adjoubei
Economic Cooperation and Integration Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2488
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0178
E-mail: [email protected]

Ljiljana Stancic
Economic Cooperation and Integration Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 1879
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0178
E-mail: [email protected]

Website: http://www.unece.org/ceci/eed.html

^* The catching-up economies in the region covered by the UNECE are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.