Skopje, 29 May 2025 (MIA) — Taking his oath of office as governor of the National Bank of North Macedonia earlier Thursday, Trajko Slaveski said he was trustworthy and he would convince his critics that the "National Bank has been and will remain independent."

According to Slaveski, the central bank should focus on three goals only: keeping inflation and prices down, maintaining financial stability and supporting the government's policies.

"Price stability for the Republic of Macedonia would mean a low and stable inflation and financial stability that would support the ambitious government policies because another goal of the National Bank is to support the government's policies and these will be our basic priorities," he said.

He said the World Bank and other central banks had "widened their competences and interests to include social issues such as green energy."

"I think this should be left to other institutions to deal with and the central bank should focus on its three primary goals," the new governor said.

Slaveski said he was aware of public expectations of a stable exchange rate but "as a professional economist, I also follow the real exchange rate," he pointed out.

He said currency appreciation since 2022 had undermined the competitiveness of the Macedonian economy.

"The Republic of Macedonia is becoming more expensive for our trade partners and this has impacted exports," he said.

He also said that "ahead of the tourist season in our tourist centers, there are foreign travel agencies making cancellations with the excuse that the Republic of Macedonia has become a relatively expensive country."

He said the response to this was to maintain the inflation rate at the eurozone level.

Asked if he was considering introducing a floating exchange rate for the denar, he said it was "not going to happen."

If the denar was overvalued, he said, "with inflation as low as that of the eurozone, these differences will iron themselves out in time."

Parliament elected Trajko Slaveski governor of the National Bank late Wednesday night, with 68 lawmakers voting in favor and 16 against.

During the debate on his competence for the post, governing coalition members focused on his qualifications and opposition members drew attention to Slaveski's party affiliation, casting doubt on his ability to maintain the independence of the central bank. mr/