August 10 (SeeNews) - The main task of Serbia's new government in the next hundred days will be to maintain macroeconomic stability as a prerequisite for all other reforms, prime minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic said presenting his new government programme.
Speaking before parliament on Tuesday, Vucic also said that the new government plans a revision of the state budget for 2016 as budget performance has been much better than expected. His speech was broadcast live by local TV broadcasters.
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"A strong stabilisation of public finance and halting public debt growth by 2017, based on the impressive results in fiscal consolidation, will be the assignments of the new cabinet," Vucic said.
Considering that budget deficit has dropped to below 2% of GDP, as compared to a planned 4% of GDP, a revision of the state budget will be proposed, Vucic also said, recalling that economic growth rate has accelerated from 0.8% in 2015 to 3.5% in the first quarter of 2016.
Serbia's first-half consolidated budget deficit narrowed 48% on the year to 18.2 billion dinars ($164.5 million/147.6 million euro), well below the originally projected 78.3 billion dinars, the country's finance ministry said last month.
The government will strive to bring public debt down to 60% of GDP by 2023, Vucic also said.
The prime minister-designate also stressed that the new Serbian cabinet will continue with the privatisation of Komercijalna Banka, the consolidation of the Postal Savings Bank and preparations to sell insurance company Dunav Osiguranje.
"At this moment the Development Agency of Serbia is negotiating with 48 potential investors who plan to invest 1.62 billion euro in the country while employing 32,400 workers," Vucic also said.
Later on Wednesday parliament is due to vote on the cabinet lineup proposed by Vucic. It features 15 sector ministers and three ministers without portfolio.
Serbia held early elections on April 24, forced by Vucic who said he needed to secure broader public support for overdue reforms.
His conservative Progressive Party garnered 48.25% of the votes, giving him 131 MPs in the 250-seat parliament. The Serbian Socialist Party (SPS), led by deputy prime minister Ivica Dacic, and its partner United Serbia, have 29 seats in parliament, and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) of Vojislav Seselj has 22 representatives. Seven political formations crossed the 5% threshold for entry into parliament.
(1 euro=123.317 dinars)
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