"The Balkan region offers major economic opportunities as all countries in the region are striving towards EU accession," Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis said on Wednesday in an address to the 4th Conference on Strategies to Reduce Poverty in the Balkans, organised in Athens by World Bank and the IMF in cooperation with the Greek government.

In other comments, the Greek minister said the conference was very important to western Balkans, a region that suffered greatly from political, social and economic problems over the last 15-20 years.

Alogoskoufis stressed that all countries in the region have entered a reforms process aiming to open up markets, achieve economic growth and social cohesion, adding that “many of the political problems of the past have been resolved. There are still some political problems in the region, but I believe that a sense of cooperation developed over the last few years that could help resolve these problems as well”.

“Greece supports all reform programmes by our neighbours and their European prospects. Support was evident through the public sector, in procedural policies, European procedures, but mainly through participation of the Greek private sector and investments in the wider region,” he said, adding:

“It is certain that the western Balkans and the southeast European region can become Europe’s economic miracle in the next 15-20 years, contributing both to the improvement of living standards in their countries and to the development of the EU as well."