Skopje, 22 October 2023 (MIA) - Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi says in his latest op-ed that signals in the fall projections of international financial institutions for the Macedonian economy urge for caution but expect the economy to develop and deliver results.

"We are creating economic growth amid an economic stagnation among our main economic partners and continued crises. We lead a prudent fiscal policy through lowering of the budget deficit while securing funds to support the most vulnerable groups of citizens and favorable loans for the economy. We ensure protection of the people's standard through rise of wages and pensions while reducing inflation (19.8% in October 2022 reduced to 6.6% in September 2023 and set to drop further). Unemployment is also shrinking to 13.1 percent, compared to 17.3 percent before the covid-crisis. Investments are on the rise, reaching 35 percent of the GDP in 2022, with foreign investments reaching 5.2 percent of the GDP. Foreign trade in 2023 has led to a drop in the trade deficit by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2022. These trends come as a result of the economic policies and reforms that have contributed to improvement and then maintenance of the country's credit rating in the years after the covid-csisis," says Minister Besimi.

The FinMin adds that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised growth projections for the Macedonian economy in 2023 (from 1.4% to 2.5%) despite significantly reducing the projections for the EU and Germany, which are North Macedonia's largest trading partners. In addition, mid-term growth prospects are improving, as shown by the latest regional economic outlook for the Western Balkans released by the World Bank. The report notes that Euro-integration would speed up the reform processes and strengthen the national economy's growth capacity, resulting from increased investments and infrastructure improvements.

Photo: Ministry of Finance