An institutional meeting was held on 7th December 2019 with reference to the "Cross-border Cooperation and Competitiveness for SMEs" project, which hosted in Puglia a delegation of about 30 subjects including partners, companies and stakeholders to promote the exchange of views and the possibility of international collaborations.

The event was held in the Barletta Castle.

The meeting was attended by the deputy Mayor of Barletta, who became an active part for the exchange of Italian, Albanian and Montenegrin experiences, representatives of Confartigianato Puglia, representatives of Confartigianato Andria, Barletta and Canosa, the Municipality of Fier (Albania), the Municipality of Budva (Montenegro), the Municipality of Herceg-Novi (Montenegro), 9 Apulian companies and 11 Albanian companies.

A second meeting is expected in February 2020 where the Apulian operators will visit the realities of the Albanian and Montenegrin territory.

The activities are carried out within the "Cross-border Cooperation and Competitiveness for SMEs" Project, financed by the Interreg  Program IPA CBC ITALY – ALBANIA – MONTENEGRO with the aim of improving the economic growth of the companies operating in the territories involved, through the tool of the guarantee cooperative. In addition to promoting access to credit, the ultimate goal is also to create the conditions for improving the internationalization of businesses.

The day of 7th December in Barletta constituted an opportunity for dialogue dedicated to operators and companies in the plant engineering, tourism, IT and communication sectors, with the prospect of strengthening comparison, creating synergies and growth between sectors. A particular Focus was dedicated to the difficulties that companies encounter in finding funding sources. So an in-depth knowledge of the regulatory sources in the territories involved in the project and the required bankability requirements are preparatory for the launch of any commercial initiative.

The proposal to establish the guarantee cooperative or at least to create the conditions for its establishment in the Albanian and Montenegrin territories is very well received.

Participants were given a form for data acquisition and were delivered: project summary, collection of regulatory sources in Italy, collection of documentation to be submitted to the company for obtaining credit.

The partners of the 3C4SME project are: the Regional Union of Crafts and Small Enterprises of Puglia - U.R.A.P. Craftsmen and SMEs Association (Lead Partner), the Interprovincial Union of Craftsmen and Small Enterprises of the Provinces of Campobasso and Isernia, the Municipality of Fier (Albania), National Business Center (Albania), the Municipality of Kotor (Montenegro) and Ministry of Economy – Directorate for development of small and medium enterprises” (Montenegro).