Following the rare negative result in direct foreign investments inflow (or outflows in this case) in the second quarter of 2020, VMRO-DPMNE said that there is no hope for greater FDI investments from the next Zaev led Government, given that it doesn’t include a single foreign investment member.

The previous, VMRO-DPMNE led Governments pioneered a model under which Macedonians from the US and other countries were appointed as FDI minister, and tasked with negotiating the arrival of various manufacturing companies from North America and Western Europe into Macedonia. Specialized departments and pre-prepared industrial zones as well as generous tax breaks brought dozens of major companies into Macedonia, building a car parts industry that did not exist before. But since the first Zaev Government, these departments were neglected or outright abolished and the result was no major FDI investment for the past three years.

The result of Zaev’s policies is the increase in unemployment, as almost 40,000 citizens are out of work. The industrial production is down and our country no longer draws in investments, VMRO-DPMNE said in a press release.

Zaev appointed several political cronies to the FDI departments in his first Government, which were treated as symbolic positions without any actual expectations of results, and now the departments are outright abolished in his new cabinet.