Talks on granting development policy guarantee continued

Delegation of Montenegro led by Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro Radoje Žugić and Minister of Finance Darko Radunović continued their participation in the spring session of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The delegation took part in a regional workshop organised by Director of the European Department of the IMF 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-owned enterprises.

The meeting with Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank Cyril Muller continued talks on approving another guarantee for 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. The meeting also discussed the ongoing projects in Montenegro financed by the World Bank.

The meeting with Director of the European Department of the IMF Poul Thomsen noted that the Central Bank of Montenegro chose appropriate 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 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 and that structural reforms, in particular those of importance for obtaining another guarantee for development policies, are continued.

The meeting with Executive Director of the Dutch-Belgian Constituency at the IMF Anthony De Lannoy discussed the macroeconomic environment in Montenegro, the situation in the banking system and the fiscal consolidation measures. The delegation informed De Lannoy that, despite solving problems in small non-systemic banks, business indicators have been improved, which contributed to the preservation of the credit rating.

With Executive Director of the Dutch Constituency at the World Bank Koen Davidse the delegation discussed technical assistance programmes and challenges in the implementation of projects financed by the World Bank.