4th September 2023, Skopje – Republic of North Macedonia managed to preserve stability, as well as sound macroeconomic fundamentals despite the turbulent times accompanied by several overlapping global economic crises. IMF’s PLL amounting to EUR 530 million, being made available solely to countries with sound economic fundamentals, speaks greatly in favour thereof. This was pointed out at the meeting between Minister of Finance, Ftamir Besimi and the new Head of the IMF’s Regional Office for the Western Balkans, Sebastian Sosa, who will held this position in the next three years.
“Impact of the overlapping crises is felt in the Republic of North Macedonia, just as in the other countries. We undertake continuous measures so as to cope with the global impact, all to the end of preserving stability and safeguarding the living standard of the citizens. Along with such efforts, last year, IMF, upon affirming the sound policies we implement, made available the Precautionary and Liquidity Line to our country, amounting to EUR 530 million, Minister Besimi pointed out at the meeting.
By stressing that public financial management is a major challenge amidst turbulent economic surrounding, posed by the health and the energy crisis, which disrupted the growth trajectory of almost all national economies, he stated that this year’s Budget was crated in view of mitigating the consequences of the crisis, ensuring smooth financing of Euro-Atlantic integration, meeting the NATO Standards, as well as laying the foundations for economic recovery and thereby ensuring accelerated economic growth. Thereby, solid basis for growth acceleration in the medium run is laid under the Fiscal Sustainability and Economic Growth Support Plan, the Public Investment Management Assessment and the Growth Acceleration Plan.
At the meeting, it was emphasized that the efforts for fiscal consolidation will be pursued and that since the onset of the crisis onwards, the budget deficit has been gradually reduced, with the aim of its lowering below 3% in the medium run, as per the Maastricht Criteria, by increasing the budget revenue collection via measures aimed at reducing the informal economy and increasing the revenue administration efficiency, followed by reduction and restructuring of budget expenditures by cutting non-priority and non-essential costs and revising the methodologies for transfers and subsidies and changes in the sources of financing the budget deficit, i.e. their greater diversification.
In addition, Minister expressed his gratitude to the former counterpart of Sebastian Sosa, Stephanie Eble for the so-far cooperation, thereby wishing her success in her further work engagements.
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