Talks on granting development policy guarantee continued

14/04/2019

Delegation of Montenegro led by the Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Mr Radoje Žugić and the Minister of Finance, Mr Darko Radunović continued their participation at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Delegation participated in a regional workshop organized by the Director of the European Department at the IMF, Mr Poul Thomsen. The workshop presented macroeconomic trends in Europe. It was noted that somewhat weaker growth was expected than in the previous year, but macroeconomic fundamentals are still satisfactory. A special segment of the workshop related to the inefficiency of state companies.

At the meeting with the Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, Mr Siril Miller it was discussed about approving second guarantee for the development policy. It was noted that Montenegro has achieved progress in the fiscal and financial sphere, and it is expected that this arrangement could be approved at the end of the current or early next year. Also, it was discussed about ongoing projects in Montenegro.

At the meeting with Mr Poul Thomsen, Director of the European Department of the IMF, it was noted that the CBCG have chosen adequate priorities for the following period: improvement of supervision, measures of prevention of money laundering and strengthening and modernization of the payment system. Minister of Finance, Mr Darko Radunović highlighted fiscal indicators for the previous year and projections in the medium term. He said that in the first two months of this year, budget revenues increased by 18.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. Structural reforms continued, in particular those important for obtaining second guarantee for development policies.

At the meeting with the Executive Director of the Dutch-Belgian Constituency in the IMF, Mr Antonio Delanoy, the macroeconomic environment in Montenegro, the situation in the banking system and the fiscal consolidation measures were discussed. Montenegrin delegation informed Mr Delanoy that, despite solving problems in small non-systemic banks, business indicators improved, which contributed to the preservation of the credit rating.

Delegation discussed technical assistance programs and challenges in the implementation of projects financed by the World Bank with the Executive Director of the Dutch Constituency at the World Bank, Mr Koen Davidse.