IMF support to more efficient public investment management agreed

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on March 16 during the talks with the Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Serbia wanted to continue the cooperation with the financial institution through a new program, it was announced after the meeting.

– We want to maintain the stability of the public finances and the entire economy, and even more importantly, to achieve a larger growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) – Vucic said at the final meeting with the IMF in Belgrade.

The head of the IMF Mission, James Roaf, emphasized that the management of the IMF had used the example of Serbia as a successful model for other countries.

The participants in the meeting agreed that it was necessary to complete the reform of public enterprises and to solve the problem of companies operating with losses in the public sector, the press release of the Serbian president's cabinet says and adds that the agreed help and support of the IMF in better planning and realizing the possibilities for a more efficient public investment management has been agreed.

Another topic of the conversations was the raise of salaries and pensions, and Vucic and IMF representatives agreed that, thanks to the excellent results since the beginning of the year, there was room in Serbia's budget for the said raises, the press release says.

There was also talk about the adoption of the new Law on Compensations, whereby all parafiscal charges would be abolished, which would facilitate the operations in the Serbian economy, as well as about the reduction of salary taxes and contributions as one of the incentives to employment in the private sector.

At the meeting between Vucic and the IMF Mission, it was said that Serbia was on the right path and that it remained dedicated to carrying out further economic reforms, increasing the GDP growth rate and improving the citizens' standard of living, the press release points out.

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

IMF Mission

Aleksandar Vucic

James Roaf

GDP of Serbia

Law on Compensations

parafiscal charges

arrangement of Serbia with the IMF

structural reforms in Serbia

precautionary standby arrangement

economic policy of Serbia

priorities of the economic policy of Serbia