Prime Minister of the FBiH Nermin Nikšić spoke today in Sarajevo with the Charge d’Affairs Officer of the American Embassy in BiH Nicholas Hill.
The main themes of discussion were economic arrangements with international monetary institutions, especially with the international monetary fond whose representatives will soon visit BiH in order to conduct monitoring regarding the next tranche of the stand-by arrangement.
Hill especially expressed interest about the phase of the Draft Law on retirement, which is one of the conditions of the Letter of Intent with the IMF, and what the consequences will be if it is passed.
Nikšić stressed that it is a very important and painful economic and political issue, that the draft in principle is almost done, but that there are still unsolved issues. In any case, it will not be an obstacle to the adoption of the budget.
‘’No matter what, we must solve the issue of favorable pension and we are not doing that because of the IMF. We have to become used to the fact that we are spending how much we have. Keeping the current situation will eventually lead to the fact that we cannot pay our dues on time’’, said Nikšić, stressing that the stability of the fund of pension and disability insurance cannot be compromised.
The Prime Minister said that, despite the crisis, he expects more investments, especially in the area of infrastructure and electro energy projects, and said that local companies recorded more in export operations.
An unavoidable issue was the reconstruction of the executive authority of the FBiH, where it was emphasized that it is necessary for greater political wisdom and maturity of all actors, so that this problem can be overcome, and without jeopardizing the functioning of the FBiH.
