PM Zoran Zaev held an online meeting with the Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission to the Republic of North Macedonia, Bergljot Bjornson Barkbu, IMF Regional Resident Representative for the Western Balkans, Stephanie Eble and IMF economists in Washington.
During the meeting, they discussed economic outlook in accordance with the talks held by the IMF mission over the last ten days as well as fiscal and monetary policy and investment plan and medium-term fiscal strategy in the country, the government said in a press release.
“PM Zaev said that he highly values the cooperation with the IMF and all recommendations aimed at continuous economic progress and creating a favorable business environment. He referred to the efforts and measures taken by the government to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave good results, supported the economy, jobs, as well as vulnerable groups of citizens. PM Zaev briefed on the positive economic trends in the country that send signal of stabilization of economy, strengthening investor confidence and growth of exports, industrial production, internal operations, and average monthly net salary,” the press release read.
He said that the government projects the economic growth to remain at 4.1% in 2021, which is in line with the IMF projections of 3.8%, the National Bank of 3.9% and the European Commission of 3.7%.
PM Zaev underlined that the government’s efforts are focused on economic development aimed at energy transition, investments in renewable sources, gasification. They also discussed the benefits of joining NATO, which is a positive signal for investors, as it increases the predictability of the business environment for new investments that have already been announced in the country.
At the meeting they underlined that the pandemic weakening and the mass vaccination provide a strong boost to the economy, the government said in a press release.
