May 26 (SeeNews) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to approve a new Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI) for Serbia in the second half of June, Serbian media reported.
The main goal of the PCI is to further support Serbia's macroeconomic policy and post-pandemic recovery as well as to promote the structural institutional reforms needed for greater, greener and more sustainable economic growth, Tanjug news agency quoted the IMF resident representative in Serbia, Sebastian Sosa, as saying earlier this week.
"The first quarter of 2021 in Serbia was better than expected, according to preliminary estimates, a growth rate of 1.2% was recorded," Sosa said at the "Western Balkans: Post - Covid Economic Outlook" panel of the Kopaonik Business Forum 2021.
Last month, Serbia's finance ministry said it discussed the signing of a new, non-financial arrangement with the IMF. Like the previous one, the new arrangement would be of an advisory nature and would not imply financial support, the finance ministry said.
In December, the IMF said it completed the fifth and final review under a 30-month PCI for Serbia, a non-financial arrangement approved in July 2018 that focused on implementing structural reforms, following the successful completion of a three-year stand-by agreement. The policy programme has facilitated macroeconomic and financial stability while advancing an ambitious reform agenda to foster rapid growth, job creation, and improved living standards, the IMF said.