Skopje, 18 October 2022 (MIA) - Preparation and development of the Smart Specialization Strategy is extremely important for the development of our country, but also for the development of the region, because by mapping our competitive advantages, we, like the entire region, can move forward in overcoming this crisis, through common regional competitiveness, as opposed to regional competition, said the Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi in his address at the opening of the Conference on the preparation of the Strategy for Smart Specialization in Skopje on Tuesday, organized by the Joint Research Center of European Commission. "The strategy for smart specialization will establish a framework that will define public policies related to research and development and especially investment policies that affect the economic, scientific and technological specialization of the country and thus its productivity, competitiveness and economic growth. Smart specialization should enable the restoration of economic growth through investments made by both the public and private sectors, which will be based on innovation and knowledge," said Deputy PM Bytyqi. On the other hand, he added, work is also being done to strengthen the institutional infrastructure for innovation, research and development, through the established accelerators, hub for digital innovations, laboratories and the like. In order to do this skillfully and for them to be productive and give the expected or desired results, it is necessary to rationalize the resources and to separate the areas of specialization from the wide range of possibilities. The Deputy PM pointed out that the previous preparation, through a large inclusive process, showed that the sectors with the greatest potential for smart specialization are smart agriculture and food with a higher added value, which this crisis further accelerated to the top of the list of priorities, followed by the electrical and mechanical industry or Industry 4.0, to which we should direct our education in order to meet the needs of the new labor market, further the ICT sector as a separate industry, but also with horizontal significance due to the necessary digitization of the economy and society, as well as smart buildings and sustainable materials , including the concept of circular economy. "This vision, which we started to create and build, will have to be imagined by our society in the next 20 years, until 2042. The national development strategy will be the umbrella of all existing and future strategies, including smart specialization, because it is important in mapping our potentials for medium and long-term development of the country," Bytyqi pointed out. According to him, in addition, now that negotiations with the European Union have already started, smart specialization will be part of the EU accession process related to two negotiation Chapters 25 – Science and research and 20 – Enterprises and industrial policy. "For the past few years, our country has been preparing for the process that we have now opened. The foundations have been laid. Now, in the next few years it is time to 'walk the walk'. And we at home and with the help of the European Commission, finally all these strategies and plans get air. Let's achieve competitiveness, with the aim of easier integration," concluded Bytyqi. The goal of the two-day conference for implementing the agenda of the Western Balkans for innovation, research, education, culture, youth and sport is to support the creation and implementation of smart specialization in the countries of the region and Turkey. dk/ik/