18th April 2026, Washington - During the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, taking place in Washington, Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska met with Antonella Bassani, Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region at World Bank, Xiaoqing Yu, World Bank Division Director for the Western Balkans, Eugene Rhuggenaath, World Bank Group Executive Director, and Carole Megevand, Country Manager for Kosovo and North Macedonia.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the cooperation between Macedonia and the World Bank to date, with emphasis continued role of this international financial institution as one of the country’s key partners in supporting development policies, institutional reforms, and capital investments.
The participants provided an overview of the current portfolio of active projects, aimed at improving public finances, modernizing infrastructure, enhancing energy efficiency, and advancing education, social protection, and agriculture sectors.
Special emphasis was placed on the implementation of the World Bank's Country Partnership Framework 2024-2028 for North Macedonia, providing for substantial financial and technical assistance to our country in the coming period.
In this context, it was underscored that key priorities continue to include enhancing the quality of public services, fostering conditions conducive to a more productive private sector and job creation, as well as strengthening the economy’s resilience to climate-related challenges.
Minister Dimitrieska-Kochoska highlighted that the Government remains committed to implementing reforms aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring sound public finances, and improving citizens’ living standard. She underlined that the partnership with the World Bank plays an important role in the implementation of both structural reforms and strategic investments that are expected to contribute to long-term economic growth and greater economic competitiveness.
The discussions also covered future cooperation between the country and the World Bank, exploring opportunities for supporting new strategic investments, as well as potential budget support tied to the reform implementation. Particular interest was expressed in projects in the fields of energy, infrastructure, and public sector modernization, aimed at fostering more sustainable economic growth and strengthening the economy’s resilience to external challenges.
The meeting also considered opportunities to use new financial instruments that could provide additional support to the country’s reform agenda, as well as implementation of projects of long-term significance for the economic development.
World Bank representatives welcomed the Government’s commitment to continuing the reforms and confirmed the institution’s readiness to continue providing expert and financial support in the period ahead to help achieve the country’s development priorities.
In addition to the Minister, the meeting was attended by Governor of the National Bank, Trajko Slaveski.
