Mali: Serbia candidate to host World Bank/IMF annual meeting in 2029

BELGRADE - Serbia has submitted a bid to host the World Bank/International Monetary Fund annual meeting in 2029, Serbian First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced on Tuesday.

Mali said this at a meeting with World Bank Executive Director Beatrice Maser, with whom he discussed Serbia's economic performance, plans for next year's budget, preparations for EXPO 2027, as well as ongoing projects in Serbia involving the World Bank, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

"It would be good to host such a meeting in Belgrade again after 50 years, since the last time such a meeting was held in Serbia was in 1979," he said.

In spite of global instability and its impact on the global economy, Serbia is maintaining the stability of its public finances, he said.

"We will also present that at the World Bank-IMF annual meeting in Washington in October. We are ready for major global events," Mali said.

He said Serbia's debt-to-GDP ratio was currently at 44.3 pct, far below that of the eurozone, which he noted was at around 89 pct.

"We are succeeding in that in spite of the fact that Serbia is in a major investment cycle and that we are investing much in capital projects in years when global instability is even impacting the near future to a significant extent," Mali said.