Macedonia's rating in the latest report for economic freedom by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, making it the best country in the region of Southeast Europe, is a confirmation of the government's policies aimed at improving the conditions for running a business, Deputy PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said Thursday.

"Macedonia once again is the best in the region, which only serves as a confirmation that our activities are focused on systematic improvement of the environment for firms to function, freedom of entrepreneurship and businesses to be enabled on work on an even terrain. It is the most important thing for us. It encourages us to see whether there is additional space to make any improvements," Stavreski told reporters.

Macedonia ranks 43. out of 177 countries in the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom. Macedonia is ranked 21st out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is above the world and regional averages.

Asked about the sale of Post Bank and the interest shown by Bulgaria's Central Cooperative Bank to invest a capital in the bank, minister Stavreski said that first and foremost the bank's value would be estimated before reaching any decision.

"In order to prepare itself for reaching a decision, the government will hire a consultancy firm to asses the bank. The public will be timely informed on any future steps," the FinMin stated.