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Serbia strives to prevent Kosovo from joining IMF, World Bank
Belgrade/Washington,
14 April 2008
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic stated last night that Serbia will face a great battle in the upcoming months to prevent Kosovo from entering the IMF and World Bank.
In an interview for RTS from Washington, where he is heading a government delegation at the IMF and World Bank spring meeting, Djelic voiced belief that Kosovo will not be granted access to these two international institutions before this September.
We have invested all possible efforts and I am certain it will not come to that, stressed Djelic.
At a meeting with IMF Director General Dominique Strauss-Khan, Djelic noted that Kosovo has been recognised by only one African, one Latin American country and four Asian countries, which is why global institutions such as the IMF and World Bank should not allow Kosovo to become a member.
He told me that there have been no activities in that direction and that he will not push them that way either, said Djelic.
The Minister added that he talked with World Bank representatives about converting a portion of Serbia’s debt from the euro into the dollar, in order to reduce the debt and enable Serbia a more flexible approach.
He recalled that since 2002, the World Bank has invested $650 million in Serbia through 18 projects and that last December it approved a three-year partnership programme worth $600 million.
We sought for a legal way to initiate these programmes, so that they do not have to wait for the next parliament to ratify them and I hope we will find a solution, stressed the Minister.
The Serbian government delegation also includes Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelasic, who is also Serbia’s Governor in the IMF, and Minister of Finance Mirko Cvetkovic.
We have invested all possible efforts and I am certain it will not come to that, stressed Djelic.
At a meeting with IMF Director General Dominique Strauss-Khan, Djelic noted that Kosovo has been recognised by only one African, one Latin American country and four Asian countries, which is why global institutions such as the IMF and World Bank should not allow Kosovo to become a member.
He told me that there have been no activities in that direction and that he will not push them that way either, said Djelic.
The Minister added that he talked with World Bank representatives about converting a portion of Serbia’s debt from the euro into the dollar, in order to reduce the debt and enable Serbia a more flexible approach.
He recalled that since 2002, the World Bank has invested $650 million in Serbia through 18 projects and that last December it approved a three-year partnership programme worth $600 million.
We sought for a legal way to initiate these programmes, so that they do not have to wait for the next parliament to ratify them and I hope we will find a solution, stressed the Minister.
The Serbian government delegation also includes Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelasic, who is also Serbia’s Governor in the IMF, and Minister of Finance Mirko Cvetkovic.
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