At yesterday’s debate organized by the Foreign Investors Council at the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, domestic and foreign experts gathered to discuss the topic: “Amid Turbulence in Global Trade and Financial Flows: The Way Forward for the Macedonian Economy.” It was emphasized that instead of focusing on foreign investments that aim to employ thousands of people, Macedonia should attract investors that offer higher added value—not just numbers.

Participants in the discussion stressed that the world is undergoing dramatic changes, and both our country and the globe are facing major challenges—from geopolitical tensions and disrupted supply chains to fluctuations in financial flows and growing uncertainty. According to the debaters, alongside improving the quality and dispersion of foreign investments, attention must also be given to retaining existing investors who will continue to reinvest in expanding capacities. Additionally, it is crucial for domestic companies to become involved in improving production and integrating into supply chains—an area that has been a weakness in recent years.

Another challenge is the technological transformation brought by digitalization. While there will be winners and losers in this shift, it was noted as a positive sign that relatively small countries like Macedonia can still find their place in the new global order.

“The whole world has changed dramatically. We’re still talking about cheap labor and attracting investments… but in the last 18 months, we’ve seen labor-intensive companies in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania—with 2,000 to 3,000 employees—leaving because they can’t find workers and aren’t competitive enough. We need to be aware of that. What we have in our country—Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt have even more. Not only do they offer cheaper labor, but they also have greater numbers—more young people annually than we’ll have in 20 years,” said Viktor Mizo, President of the Foreign Investors Council. Mizo added that while government subsidies can bring short-term results, they are not sustainable in the long run. Instead, the country should identify several sectors where it holds a competitive advantage and become thoroughly familiar with the leading companies in those areas.

Jürgen Kappenmann from Policultancy emphasized that companies like Google and Microsoft are interested in the Western Balkans due to the high quality of human capital, but find it too expensive. He added, “The real competition is Nigeria, which has hundreds of millions of people offering the same quality of service but at 10% of the cost in our region. That’s the benchmark.” Kappenmann highlighted that the Western Balkans face strong competition and therefore need more capital-intensive projects, as well as investment in robotics and automation.

Macroeconomic expert Zoran Jovanovski focused on the unsustainability of the trade deficit in the long term, pointing out that in the last 15 years, the trade deficit with the rest of the world has averaged 21% of the country's GDP.

“How long can we continue to finance such a deficit?” he asked, noting that in the short term, it can be covered through foreign inflows—such as private transfers—or the surplus generated by the services sector.

He emphasized that the question of how to increase foreign currency inflows—and from which industries—must be answered through scientific analysis and a systematic approach. According to him, attention should be directed toward net-exporting companies and attracting high-quality foreign direct investments.

Antoni Peshev, Executive Director of the Chamber, highlighted the information technology sector as a key driver of economic development. According to him, swift action is needed—otherwise, “a tsunami will overtake us,” referring to the impact of artificial intelligence on economic dynamics.

“Action is needed. We must invest in artificial intelligence. No one is fully aware of the tsunami that awaits us, and it will have a massive impact—socially, on the labor market, and on politics,” said Peshev.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Zoran Stavreski noted that between 1990 and 2025, twelve to thirteen European countries managed to move from middle-income to high-income status. Ten of them are in Central Europe, and the other two are Greece and Malta.

“What we’re trying to figure out now is when Macedonia will be classified as a high-income country,” said Stavreski.

He added that active work is underway with the Chamber and the organization Macedonia2025 to establish a model that will maintain Macedonian competitiveness, particularly through improved vocational education.

Mike Zafirovski and Prof. Dr. Nikica M. Blazevski reiterated Macedonia2025’s main priorities: the need for accelerated economic growth and strategies for achieving it, full implementation of digital transformation in the country, a stronger focus on innovation, attracting foreign investment, and fighting corruption.

Participants in the debate organized by the Foreign Investors Council agreed that in addition to focusing on the quality and distribution of foreign investments, efforts must also be made to retain existing investors and to integrate domestic companies into production improvement and supply chains.