As part of the Spring Session of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WB), BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez, on the last day of his official visit to the United States, met with the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Bo Li.
The meeting discussed economic trends in our country and the expected rate of economic growth for the next period, which should be fairly equal to the projections presented by other countries in the region.
Li praised the resilience of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy during the pandemic, as well as during the hyperinflation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, he also pointed to significant risks, and suggested the strengthening of fiscal discipline, the stability of the financial sector and the currency board, and the accelerated implementation of structural reforms, especially in the area of restructuring state-owned enterprises.
In the end, mutual readiness was expressed for the BiH and IMF teams to work on creating assumptions for concluding a new arrangement with the IMF.
Minister Helez thanked for the support provided by the IMF to Bosnia and Herzegovina, both financially and in terms of strengthening institutions at all levels.
In addition to Minister Helez, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senad Softić, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muhamed Hasanović, and representatives of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington were present at the meeting – the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.