You arrived in Macedonia in 1999, with the Kosovo crisis still going on. Can you tell us your impression of Macedonia at that time?
First of all, when I arrived Macedonia had already gone through the situation with the refugees. Virtually all had returned home. In itself, the situation was a dramatic event that set the stage for Macedonia's evolution. That was an extremely difficult period, and the Macedonians responded in such a way that over 300,000 refugees were sustained here, then got to go home. That was particularly difficult for an emerging society and nation. Coming here from Romania, having been in Croatia and Slovenia for so many years, and seeing the transition from Yugoslavia to independence for those countries, I was struck on how similar Macedonia is to how I remember the Former Yugoslavia. I was impressed with the educational level and sophistication of the people. I was impressed - and this might not be a completely positive comment - with how so many of the institutions here look like old Yugoslav institutions despite its being a new country. So I think the immediate impression wasn't one of surprise. Macedonia is not a country that started from scratch. It was a country that derived from what Yugoslavia was, and had to go through a transitional period and requirements for transition which made things that much harder. I think in a sense this was probably the most significant observation I had to make in terms of where I was, and where I thought the US was in terms of assisting Macedonia. I was very much struck by that.
Regarding US interest in Macedonia - has it been a long lasting interest, or only when Macedonia gained independence?
Let's not forget that the US had been actively engaged in Yugoslavia for quite some time due to the unique political-strategic position of Yugoslavia during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. We didn't have an embassy here, but we had a cultural center in Skopje since the early 70s, staffed by American citizens. We had a presence here, it was mainly cultural, and it was significant. I've talked to Macedonians who remember having gone on a Fulbright Scholarship back in the old days, and using the American library center. America has always had a big impact in the former Yugoslavia, and each of the Republics. I once said that our major interest here is new-post independence. Since it's independence, we've been deeply committed to Macedonia's stability, sovereignty, economic reform and growth. We've participated in the UN mission here since the early 1990s. We have been active from the beginning.
How would you evaluate the investment level of American companies in Macedonia?
Like most of the countries in the southern tier region, there hasn't been as much foreign investment as is needed to create the takeoff you have seen in the northern tier. What we're seeing here is small and medium sized foreign investors coming in. The Greeks, and people of Macedonian ethnic background coming from overseas are investing. We've seen some larger companies taking advantage of privatization opportunities. The Telcom privatization provided a dramatic opportunity. There are other projects like that. But what we haven't seen yet is significant green-field investment in production capacity to support a regional market, and that is the stage we have to move to next. It was necessary to see change in Belgrade and the end of the Yugoslav crisis in order to create an environment attractive to investment. In the next few years we should see more movement, but it hasn't fallen into place yet.
We have helped a lot of small, domestic businesspeople with over 3,000 loans. We have some loan funds that we have put together that are managed by different local contractors. They have offices in the local communities and they help local people with small loans for equipment. We supplement that with technical training. We send Macedonian Citizens to the United States to learn more about our business practices. We are very much focused on the domestic, small businessperson. There are the small and medium investors coming in for individual investments, and the large investors coming for government projects.
What is the objective of transferring knowledge to these businesses? Do you expect foreign investors to benefit from these programs?
We have made local companies more attractive for foreign investors by helping on the technology side. But what we've found when we've gone into these companies to do technical assistance is that its not so much the production that needs assistance, but more the marketing and financial side. That's where the help is needed. We have some programs that help specifically to marry Macedonian companies with a production capacity in textiles and food products, with market demand from abroad and people who may be interested in such things. So, these people know how to produce their product - its not the most advanced technology, but they know how it works. They know what they need to grow. We've been the most help with the marketing end.
Is it more geared toward local expansion, or rather regional or international expansion?
It's been both. We've worked very hard since NATO has been here to help Macedonian companies win contracts supporting NATO and NGOs in the country. And we've assisted them with the tendering process. In 1999, we conducted a trade seminar fair for local companies and NGO contract procurement professionals working in Kosovo. Our effort resulted in Contracts for selling blankets, a tile company for roofing tile for an NGO that is doing housing in Kosovo, to name a few. We hope through these contacts that relationships will expand and become more permanent.
| Your embassy is very active in promoting and supporting local businesses and to support economic growth. But we're still not very far from the instability of the region. Would you say Macedonia is a safe destination for investment?
It's a complicated question. The Balkans, as I see it, and I've been here quite a while, can only now begin to emerge as a defined economic region. You've had Serbia, Yugoslavia as the cut-off, and Macedonia was on the wrong side of that cut-off; and you've had problems between Macedonia and Greece which made things difficult. But only now is the region emerging as a defined economic space. When you look at the region, you will see Macedonia emerge as the likely place to go. I find it hard to imagine how a large American manufacturer who is interested to produce for the region would want to see Macedonia as a single market. It's too small. If you look at the region in terms of productive capacity, it's pretty thin. There are a lot of imports. That's going to improve soon. Macedonia has free trade agreements with every country in the region.
Production for exports is important too. Macedonia has an educated labor force, they are hard workers, and there is some potential in certain areas for products to export throughout the region. So in terms of foreign US investment, leaving out small investors, they are looking at the entire region, and they are looking to produce here for export elsewhere.
Do you have encouraging signs of American investors looking to come to Macedonia?
We have recived more attention now that Macedonia has made arrangements with the World Bank, the IMF, and has conducted privatization of some of its largest companies. It's also making efforts to privatize the power sector - a dramatic undertaking. That should be able to attract even American business. The savvy businessman sees that things are starting to happen in the Balkans the right way, they will see that Macedonia will hopefully emerge as a potential destination. Things are happening in the areas of health care and private pension reform. I'm urging the Macedonian government to take the lead in these areas.
So you are pretty confident that the Government will be restructured due to requirements coming from the World Bank, IMF, EU etc. Do you think the Government is willing to make these changes to be ready to attract new investors and perhaps become a real member of the WTO and EU?
All of those players have had a profound impact on forcing change. The Macedonian Government hopes to join the WTO this year - they are working very hard on this. These are all very difficult - they all force change. They force the government to focus on specific things that need to be changed. That's their strength. And not just in the economic area. The legal framework for a civil society is very weak as it is in most countries in the region. There is a very aggressive reform agenda in front of the government, and they seem to be committed to it. But how much can one really do? Economic reform is a priority, but there are many other social issues that need to be taken care of.
I would like to ask you a more personal question. As a representative of the American government, you are here to implement their policies of your country, but what would you personally, outside of official policy, like to see happen here in Macedonia?
I have to think about it in response to my particular tenure here - how long I'll stay - because we come and go. What is reasonable to expect in the next 1 1/2 - 2 years? One always wants to achieve so much. I think in terms of broader areas, I'd like to see significant reform in the trade-companies law - in terms of how you register and manage a company, the legal regulatory requirements of how you run a company, that clearly would be EU compatible, and something that is very aggressive in the reform area. I would like to see Macedonia strengthening the independent judiciary. More victims rights for women and children. We are working with NGOs in these areas. Civil society strengthening is very important to me. When I go to local communities I see the need. De-centralization of the country into something we are more familiar with in the US is clearly more than two years away. I'd like to see the strengthening of local NGOs and local mayors to deal with local problems. Military reform - there's a lot of legislation in the works right now and they are on the cusp of passing it. Anti-corruption, public administration reform, these are very important. They are so close in so many areas. They can get a lot of things done in the next few years. |
V.I.P. INTERVIEWS 
