Mali: Serbia example of responsible fiscal, monetary policy

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday Serbia was an example of a responsible fiscal and monetary policy, as also testified by praise from the IMF.

The fact the IMF has decided to sign another agreement with us is another proof of that, Mali told the RTS.

Recalling that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had told the World Economic Forum in Davos that interest rate and price growth would have a devastating effect on developing countries over the long term, Mali noted that "we must be careful and responsible about every dinar we spend from the budget and we must maintain the stability of our public finances."

"Before our eurobond issue, I spoke with over 100 investors and, for them, the most important thing is whether someone is stable, how much money is there in their account, what their debt-to-GDP ratio is and how high their unemployment and growth rates are," Mali said.

When it comes to all those indicators, Serbia is really doing excellently if we take into account that this is a third consecutive crisis year, he added, noting that Serbia's economic growth had been at a respectable 2.3-2.5 pct in 2022, when many countries in Europe and worldwide had already been hit by recession.

"Of course I am concerned by the fact that our main external trade partners such as Germany and Italy are getting into recession, but look at the situation Serbia is in compared to them," Mali said, noting that Serbia's debt-to-GDP ratio would amount to 50.2 pct after repayment of 100 bln dinars of old debt at the end of January.

He noted that, by comparison, the eurozone average is 94 pct while the debt-to-GDP ratio in Spain, France, Italy and Greece exceeded 120, 130 and even 150 pct, respectively.

Mali added that, for a third consecutive quarter, Serbia's jobless rate was at a record low of 8.9 pct.