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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia achieves good macroeconomic results

Belgrade, 3 April 2023

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic met today with a Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Donal McGettigan, as part of the first review of the current stand-by arrangement, which the Republic of Serbia has been implementing since December 2022.

The stand-by arrangement aims to preserve macroeconomic and financial stability, strengthen the economy's resilience in the face of the global energy crisis, and encourage sustainable growth.

Brnabic pointed out that Serbia is achieving good economic results, despite numerous challenges, and that the current priority is the restructuring of the energy sector.

She added that a lot needs to change in this regard, as well as that a detailed investment plan in the energy sector is being prepared, which the IMF representatives praised.

The Prime Minister said that the government is fighting every day for even better results than in 2022, and that it is important to find additional sources of growth.

According to her, exports in the IT industry last year amounted to €2.7 billion, which is 45 percent higher than in 2021.

In January of this year alone, there was a 42 percent increase in exports in that industry compared to the same month of 2022, Brnabic said, adding that there is great potential in that industry, and that the government's goal is to reach exports of €4 billion.

The Prime Minister also stated that biotechnology can be an additional source of growth, that in this context the construction of the BIO4 campus is important, which should attract investment in research and development projects in Serbia, and that efforts will be made to increase the productivity of the economy with the use of artificial intelligence.

Brnabic pointed out that the digitisation of the health system is being worked on, as well as that the Unified Education Information System will provide good data on the basis of which priorities for investments in the education sector will be planned.

She also praised the eInvoice and eFiscalisation projects and pointed out that they are working well.

McGettigan assessed that Serbia achieves good macroeconomic results, that it has good economic growth despite the challenges, as well as impressive figures in terms of foreign direct investments.

He said that the Serbian economy has proven to be resistant to external shocks, and inflation remains to be the only challenge, as it is for other countries in Europe and the world.

According to expectations of the IMF, inflation in Serbia should be 8 percent lower by the end of the year.

He also pointed out that the implementation of the current arrangement is making excellent progress, and that all planned goals have been met so far.

The Head of the IMF Mission particularly praised the "Iskra" project, which includes a system of centralised salaries in the public sector.

McGettigan concluded that the situation in the energy sector is stable, but it is important to monitor it continuously.

The current stand-by arrangement lasts for 24 months, until the end of 2024.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali.