Bosnia and Herzegovina is hosting the regular annual meeting of the Constituent Assembly, a group of member countries of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by the Netherlands and Belgium.
In addition to high representatives of the IMF and the World Bank, today’s meeting in Sarajevo is attended by the governors of central banks and the ministers and deputy ministers of finance of the member countries. The executive directors of the World Bank, Kohen Davidse and the International Monetary Fund, Paul Hilbers, stated in their opening remarks that the meeting is an opportunity for the participants to exchange opinions and discuss the policies and programs of the IMF and the World Bank, as well as other key issues for the European and world economies, such as current issues of inflation and energy security, transition and cooperation.
The Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the International Monetary Fund and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zoran Tegeltija, said in a statement to journalists that the priority of the member states of the Constituency, as well as the EU and international financial organizations, the World Bank and the IMF, is to curb inflation and price growth, as well as to provide funds for procurement food and energy.
Tegeltija added that today’s discussions of the participants of this meeting, especially the representatives of the World Bank and the IMF, do not contain encouraging news, considering that the high growth of food and energy prices will apparently not be a challenge only this year, but will be carried over into the next year as well.
“We received a clear message that non-EU countries will face the problem of securing financial resources on the international financial market. It is difficult to say what is the bigger challenge for Bosnia and Herzegovina now, the inability to access international financial markets or the high increase in food and energy prices,” said Tegeltija.
He emphasized that the authorities in BiH have done a lot to solve the mentioned problems, through various measures, such as limiting prices, and margins, and provided funds and direct interventions to various groups in society. Tegeltija particularly pointed out that there were no interventions within the tax policy, and that it was suggested today that this should be avoided in the future.
He added that he expects that there will be no shortage of food and energy in BiH, as well as in the countries of the Constituency and the EU, and emphasized that assistance to vulnerable categories of the population should be the focus of all authorities.
He appealed for greater solidarity among countries, adding that this solidarity is a matter of political decisions of key players in Europe. He stated that today the EU is talking about EUR 140 billion in aid for its member countries, which is why he called on Europe to include the member states of the Constituency in that process in order to secure the necessary financial resources.
BiH Governor at the World Bank and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bisera Turković pointed out that the wishes of all participants are to curb inflation, ensure energy security, but also to improve investments and employment both in our country and in the countries of the Constituency. She reminded that in the past 30 years, the World Bank and donors have invested more than three billion US dollars in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the implementation of around 120 projects.
“It is important to say that more than 60 schools, 18 hospitals, more than 500 kilometers of road network including tunnels and bridges were built. In the period from 2017 alone, World Bank projects supported the creation of more than 30,000 jobs. This year, a new partnership strategy was agreed with the World Bank, which will support projects worth 700 million US dollars,” said Turković.
In a statement to journalists, Davidse and Hilbers expressed their satisfaction that this important international meeting is being held in Sarajevo, adding that they discussed the assistance that the World Bank has already provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the assistance that will follow. The meeting of the Constituent Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina was supposed to be held in June 2020, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hilbers added that he had been waiting for this session for three years and that today is an opportunity to discuss macroeconomic and structural challenges, as well as the policies and programs of the IMF and the World Bank.
The managing director of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, said that the participants had the opportunity to share messages to overcome the crisis and that this meeting is an opportunity to share experiences in order to recover from the crisis.
The first message, as he emphasized, is about the solidarity of all and the provision of aid for all countries.
“The World Bank has provided significant financial assistance and this year funds of 150 million dollars have already been provided, which will be used for support and solidarity,” he added.
Trotsenburg said that solidarity with Ukraine was also expressed, for which assistance must be provided through bilateral and multilateral efforts.
“The World Bank formed a platform through which 13 billion was provided, and 10 billion of this aid has already been paid out through this mechanism,” emphasized Trotsenburg.
The third message, according to him, refers to the marking of 30 years of cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“So far we have had solid cooperation and we consider Bosnia and Herzegovina to be an extremely good partner and we will continue to cooperate,” Trotsenburg pointed out, adding that there is still a lot of work ahead for everyone.
The Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Bo Li, thanked the host for the successful organization of the meeting.
“It deepens and improves our relations and from the first days of the pandemic, through the war in Ukraine to today, the IMF has worked hard to provide support to all countries that are part of the Constituency and we will continue to use all our instruments and tools in terms of providing advice to the policy of building continuity and providing loans on the way from crisis to recovery,” Li added.
After these addresses, Tegeltija opened an exhibition dedicated to 30 years of the World Bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The participants of the meeting, as planned, will visit key World Bank projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow.
