19th November 2020, Skopje – Under the regular International Monetary Fund mission, headed by Bergljot Bjornson Barkbu, the final meeting with Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi was held, wherein the final observations as regards macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts for the upcoming period, were presented.
Minister of Finance expressed his firm assurance that the undertaken and planned policies and measures will lead to intensifying the economic growth in the next 5-year period, as well as increasing the domestic economic growth potential by making investments in the field of infrastructure, energy, environment, as well as human capital and digitalization.
“Policies, which will underpin domestic demand, as well as investments, competitiveness and export activity, will continue in 2021, for the purpose of faster recovery of domestic economy and creating basis for intensified economic growth in the long run. Planned fiscal consolidation, redesigned fiscal policy and the Strategy for Economic Recovery and Intensified Growth (SmartER Growth) are a solid basis for intensifying the economic growth in the period to come, achieving the pre-crisis level of the economy in the second half of 2022, as well as providing faster economic growth pace, thereafter. In line with the indicative forecasts, economic growth in 2025 is expected to reach 5.9%, while stabilization of the average economic growth rate to 5.75% annually is expected in the 2026-2030 period, Minister Besimi underlined.
Pandemic, as Minister stressed, caused the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression onwards, being difficult to predict, however, medium-term projections are necessary and crucial in defining the model of faster economic growth based upon innovations, human capital and digitalization.
