Mali: Serbia's public debt at 43.7 pct of GDP, good fiscal policy main tool in times of crisis

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday Serbia's public debt amounted to around 43.7 pct of GDP compared to the Euro zone average of 88.89 pct, and noted that a good fiscal policy was the main tool for achieving stability in times of crisis.

Thanks to its fiscal resilience, Serbia has reserves of almost 5 bln euros in the state coffers and is always able to react quickly if needed, Mali said at the 21st World Congress of the International Economic Association (IEA), held at Belgrade's Sava centar.

"If you look at what is going on in the world today, in Europe in particular, I do not think we are talking about a temporary crisis. We are talking about a permanent change of economic environment. The fiscal policy, as the main tool all governments have, is the key instrument in resolving all problems brought by such a permanent change of economic environment," Mali noted at a panel titled Fiscal Policy and Financing of Sustainable Development.

He said this in response to a question whether Europe was entering a new phase where fiscal policies should be simultaneously adapted to national security, energy resilience, climate change and industrial competitiveness in a permanent manner.

"Let's just be open - we are talking about demographic changes. We are talking about climate changes. We are talking about innovations in technology, about artificial intelligence and the accompanying challenges. We are talking about geopolitical conflicts, various wars. We are talking about regionalisation, rather than about globalisation. We are talking about energy efficiency and investments. See, there is a series of different challenges that need to be addressed at the same time. As finance minister, I do not think we are actually talking only about fiscal policy, including deficits and the debt-to-GDP ratio or anything else that matters. I think we are talking about fiscal resilience," Mali said.