The Fair Pristina 2018 organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo, starts today and will last until 21 April.

President of the Chamber of Commerce of Kosovo Safet Gerxhaliu told RTV KIM yesterday that "Pristina will be the capital of the Balkans, since more than 180 companies from all over the region are gathering in this city".

Gerxhaliu also said that the most important thing was the fact that the Balkans are not what it used to be, because economic cooperation in the region goes one hundred steps ahead of politics. He says that this was another proof that European integration should not be viewed only from the political, but also from the economic side, reported RTV KiM.

However, as reported by the Pristina based daily Koha Ditore, the Kosovo Manufacturers Club urged businessmen from Kosovo to boycott the Pristina 2018 fair because of the large number of Serbian companies that have booths at this event.

This Club was dissatisfied with the fact that out of 174 companies participating in the fair, more than half are from Serbia and that in the past 19 years, no Kosovar company has been invited to participate in a fair in Serbia.

"It is unacceptable for the Kosovo Manufacturers Club to offer such a space to the promotion of Serbian companies in the Kosovo market, and at the same fair there are far fewer Kosovo producers," reported the Pristina media.

The Club claimed that there were difficulties that Kosovo producers faced because of the discouraging policies of the Serbian state.

"Difficulties are numerous from customs and non-customs barriers, the blocking of Kosovo products in the Serbian territory, the blockade of transit of Kosovo manufacturers that trade across Serbia, failure to implement the electricity agreement," the Kosovo Manufacturers Club said in a statement.