IMF official: Serbia’s growth result of higher demand, exports and investments

NEWS 04.12.201918:28
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IMF Resident Representative in Serbia Sebastian Sosa told the FoNet news agency at a meeting of regional economic leaders on Wednesday that Serbia’s expected economic growth of up to four percent next year comes from stronger domestic demand and higher exports and foreign direct investments.

He said the IMF believes that unemployment will also drop along with a stable fiscal situation. Serbia has achieved progress in terms of macro-stabilization and lower instability and is expected to have a low deficit of 0.5 percent of the GDP next year, he said.

The IMF does not expect to see problems internally, he said and added that there could be risks from outside such as weaker economic activity in the European Union which is Serbia’s biggest trade partner and greatest foreign direct investor.

Sosa said the announced rise in public sector salaries is higher than recommended by the IMF but does not endanger the country’s macro-economic and fiscal stability. He added that the rise in private sector salaries is based on healthy criteria.