February 16 (SeeNews) - Kosovo will need strong, sustained, and inclusive growth to reduce the large income gap with the rest of Europe, International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Tao Zhang said.
“This includes reducing unemployment, especially among the young, and the dependence on remittances,” Tao Zhang said in a statement late on Thursday following the conclusion of a two-day official visit in Kosovo.
Kosovo should accelerate some reforms, especially in the areas of education, governance, health, infrastructure, and access to finance in order to improve competitiveness, attract foreign direct investment, and foster private sector development, IMF deputy director added.
“Prudent fiscal policies and macroeconomic stability are the basic conditions for stronger growth, and I commended the Kosovar government for the fiscal discipline and financial stability of recent years.”
Reforming and containing increases in untargeted social benefit spending as well as in public wages should help create the fiscal space needed for priority spending on education, health and infrastructure within the limits of the fiscal rule.
Tao Zhang also noted that the strengthening of the tax administration will help to fight informality and ensure a friendly environment for investment.