Both IMF and the World Bank (WB) have assessed that Macedonia is the best in the region having the highest growth in 2014 and 2015 as well. This is encouraging because it suggests that the policies have been well-conceived, namely the policy on attracting foreign investments and using these investments for job creation and to increase the export of goods from Macedonia and towards Europe and the rest of the world.

This was stated by Deputy PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski, who is taking part in the IMF/WB Annual Meetings in Washington together with the Governor of the National Bank of Macedonia (NBRM), Dimitar Bogov.

IMF and WB’s annual session, he added, is an excellent opportunity to meet with top officials of these two institutions, with people who monitor the economy in Macedonia and to see how they perceive our economy and to hear their views on general developments in the region, Europe and the world, which will be useful when making future projections.

“The piece of advice of these institutions to all the countries is where there’s room – and Macedonia falls into that category – the budget to support capital investments that are set to create increased economic activity in the short-run, while in the long-run they will allow the economy’s competitiveness to be boosted by constructing roads, which is being done in Macedonia where three new highways are being built together with a railroad track to Bulgaria, energy projects and other infrastructure,” said Deputy PM Stavreski.

The policies implemented in Macedonia, he noted, are being recommended to other countries in an attempt to register an economic growth, because evidently the European economy is out of shape.

At the same time, out talks in the World Bank are used for discussions on concrete projects, said Stavreski.

“It’s my pleasure to announce that the World Bank has recently approved a loan to finance roads in Macedonia in amount of 52 million euros, including roads from Bitola to Resen, Debar-Boskov Most, etc. It is expected in the coming stage other roads to be financed. However, additional 105 million euros have been agreed for dozens of other roads in Macedonia in a bid to improve the road infrastructure in the country,” FinMin Stavreski stated.

It has been concluded, he stressed, that Macedonia is taking appropriate steps in addressing the challenges coming from Europe and that the country is going into the right direction with the achieved rates of growth.

“Minister Stavreski and I in Washington have attended quality panel discussion where he had the chance to hear the views of leading economic policy-makers,” stated Governor Bogov.

They mainly focused on ways to create new jobs and economic growth in the world, particularly in Europe, according to him. It is recommended more to be invested in infrastructure thus creating potential for higher economic growth in the long run and also creating a much needed demand in those economies that have room for that in order the global economy to recover quickly.

“Also, we have had the opportunity to hear the latest projections of the IMF and WB, which allows us to conclude that their views are very similar to those of the National Bank of Macedonia… It was quite pleasant to hear that Macedonia’s economy lies on sound foundations and that we should continue making the same efforts,” stated NBRM Governor Bogov.