Steering Committee meeting for the Regional Development Program of Albania (RDPA)

On Friday, March 29th 2019, the Steering Committee of the Regional Development Program of Albania was attended, in the observer role, by the Executive Director of the Albanian Regional Councils Association, Mrs. Elidiana Canaj.
The project is co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Austrian Development Agency (ADA). The program is implemented in partnership with the Albanian Government.
The Steering Committee was chaired by Ms. Debora Kern, Head of the Governance and Health Sector at the Swiss Embassy, and Mrs. Ivis Noçka, Coordinator at the Prime Minister’s Secretary-General Management Office. The RDPA steering committee brought together the main actors of the Program, by bringing as well a great opportunity to discuss and reflect on the results of the objectives for the Phase III and IV of the Program.
During this meeting were discussed and shared ideas and approaches on the Regional Development Goals, pointing out again that this reform continues to be a priority of the Albanian Government and technical assistance in this area remains of a particular importance, not only at the national level but also from the point of view related to the processes of European integration. The main purpose of the RDP Program is to reduce inequalities in Albania by supporting the development of strong regions, so that they can progress with their potential to provide better social and economic conditions for their citizens.
The Albanian Government has recognized the Regional Development as a priority and has taken a number of measures to invest considerable in this process both at the national and regional level in orden to achieve the overall objective of the Albanian Government in terms of Regional Development: enhancing competitiveness between regions, ensuring a sustainable socio-economic development of communities and creating a competitive and dynamic economy.
In this context, the Program also aims to increase regional cohesion, reduce resource inequalities, increase productivity, and social / environmental standards. This would increase management efficiency and create a more inclusive society with higher skills and better jobs for both women and men.
The program is a continuation of the Regional Development Program implemented in the Northern Albania, which introduced new dimensions in RD discussions; providing a methodology for setting up coordination mechanisms within the existing government strukture, and an approach to linking cross-regional strategies to practical implementation of the projects by allowing the formulation of development strategies based on the included areas.