Agreement with IMF to be extended by at least another two years

The minister of finance of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, met in Washington, D.C. with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, who praised the reforms carried out in Serbia and pointed out that the country, “thanks to those reforms and the achieved economic results, has deserved the place it is in now.”

As announced on the website of the Government of Serbia, Mali said that the managing director of the IMF had been showed the positive macroeconomic parameters of Serbia, such as the economic growth and the growth of foreign direct investments, as well as salaries and pensions, with a low unemployment rate and an intensive construction of road infrastructure.

– The agreement with the IMF expires at the end of this year and, at the meeting, it was agreed for it to be extended by another two years at least. We thereby show that we are ready to continue with the reforms, which is also a message to the citizens of Serbia and the investors that are supposed to come to our country – underlined Mali.

Mali said that he had also introduced Georgieva to the EXPO 2027 project and its potential to give an opportunity for the growth of the whole region:

– Together, we came to the conclusion that EXPO 2027 and everything that comprises it, the construction of fast railroads, highways, schools, hospitals, investments in energy, is the biggest opportunity for the whole region in the sense of growth and new investment and present ourselves to the world the right way.

Mali once again reiterated that Serbia, unlike some much more developed countries, was growing at a rapid rate and that the public debt had been under control for a long time.

Summing up his three-day visit to Washington, he estimated that he was bringing good news for Serbia from all the meetings he had attended, namely, that everybody had praised the progress, reforms and growth achieved up till that point.

– We need to continue reforming the Tax Administration, public companies and the energy sector. Reforms in the fields of welfare spending, labor market regulations, so, everything that makes the economy even more attractive and competitive, are also needed – specified Mali.

All this, as he emphasized, should bring Serbia closer to achieving the goals set in the “Leap into the Future – Serbia 2027” plan, which is for the average salary to be EUR 1,400, the average pension EUR 650 and the minimum wage EUR 650.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Ministry of Finance of Serbia

International Monetary Fund

IMF

Siniša Mali

Kristalina Georgieva

Washington DC

agreement with IMF

EXPO 2027

Expo 2027

Leap into the Future Serbia 2027