A Forum for Rural Development of the countries of South-East Europe was held

In Podgorica from 10 to 13 October 2017 the Forum for Rural Development of the countries of South-East Europe was held. The Forum was organized in cooperation with the Standing Working Group for Regional Rural Development of South-East Europe, which organized the Agricultural Policy Forum entitled "Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development for Accelerated EU Integration of the Western Balkans ".

The Rural Development Policy Forum 2017 of the countries of South-East Europe served as a platform for dialogue on the policy settings and perspectives of the LEADER approach in the countries of Southeast Europe and also provided the opportunity for dialogue between civil society organizations and decision makers. The Forum dealt with the need for a territorial partnership of rural actors in the Western Balkans and increasing the potential for the development of rural areas. Recommendations related to the LEADER approach in the region were prepared in the framework of the Rural Development Policy Forum of South East Europe 2017 and Agricultural Policy Forum 2017.

Participants of the RDPF also participated in plenary sessions of the Forum of Agricultural Policy (APF) 2017; they also had the opportunity to get acquainted with other topics such as: Improving the competitiveness of the rural economy considering the farm structure in the Western Balkans and Agricultural products trade barriers in the Western Balkans.

Participants also had the opportunity to contribute to defining the Agenda of Agricultural Policy Forum during the plenary session organised on 13th October 2017.
The Rural Development Forum of the countries of Southeast Europe is one of the activities of the project "ALTER - Active Local Territories for Economic Development of Rural Areas", which is supported by the European Union.