Developments in the United States and the eurozone do not have any major effects on Macedonia's economy, but Macedonia still feels the effects of the global economic crisis after a certain period or even belatedly, says Sonja McGurk, American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia (AmCham Macedonia) Executive Director.

In Sunday's interview with Radio Free Europe, McGurk says the crisis was felt much earlier in certain sectors, whereas after a while in others.

"Regional developments have a significant influence on Macedonia's economy, such as the Greek crisis on the textile industry, or recent events in Kosovo with regards to the export. However, the main thing is that banks lead a quite conservative monetary policy, which contributes to the fact that the global crisis has not been reflected in Macedonia with great intensity", adds McGurk.

With regards to the staff the country has to offer, she says there are well-education people in some sectors, such as the engineering or IT fields, adding that Macedonia's education system lacks the so-called soft skills, client relations, public relations, as well as working within an organization.

McGurk stresses that the Government economic measures stimulate the private sector, contributing to its comprehensive development, whereas undertaking of specific measures will help certain industry branches.

"These sectors would register improvement through such stimulation. In any case, these are long-term measures, it is not something that will happen overnight", underlines AmCham Macedonia Executive Director McGurk.