23rd April 2022, Skopje – Minister of Finance, Fatmir Besimi concluded the Spring Meetings with a recommendation for using the IMF Precautionary and Liquidity Line. It is a matter of IMF financial instrument, allocated only to countries with sound economy, being positively assessed as regards the economic policies, with macroeconomic and financial stability in place, being expected to continue in future as well.
In times of global challenges, when, as a result of the war in Ukraine, price pressures are increasing while global economic growth expectations are receding, these resources will be a substantial liquid support for our economy, yielding sound performance. These resources will provide support for both the business sector and the citizens, all to the end of increasing the living standard of the citizens, as well as overcoming the price and energy crisis.
These resources are allocated as per the Government’s commitment to financing the budget needs at lowest possible costs.
During the Spring Meetings, Minister announced that the Budget will be restructured. He stressed that the fund reallocation has not been defined yet, however, one thing is clear – they will be focused on supporting the citizens and the business sector in order to overcome the challenges posed by the global developments.
Final 2022 GDP projections will be known upon completing the analyses by the Ministry of Finance, for which activities are still being undertaken. Most recent IMF spring projections will be also taken into consideration when making the new projections.
Besimi stressed that, in the medium term, the focus will be placed on achieving sustainable economic growth, energy stability in the long term, intensified human capital investments, as well as implementation of the structural reforms.
Under the Spring Meetings, Minister Besim met high officials from the World Bank and the IMF, among which Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Region, Anna Bjerde, Head of IMF Mission to North Macedonia, Alfred Kammer, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs and Special Representative to the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, as well as top officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. What was underlined during these meetings was the significance of the EU integration process for the further development of our country, as well as for the stability in the region, also including the possibility to deepen the economic cooperation and implement new projects in cooperation with USAID and the US Embassy to North Macedonia. When meeting the representatives of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Minister also stressed the importance for signing Agreement on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments, which will provide for increasing the inflow of US foreign direct investments in our country.
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