PODGORICA (Montenegro), June 19 (SeeNews) – Montenegrin finance minister Darko Radunovic said the government targets a budget surplus equal to 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020.
As a result of the fiscal measures applied by the government, the Montenegrin public debt is expected to fall to 67% of GDP in 2020, Radunovic said in a video file posted on the website of public broadcaster Radio Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) on Saturday.
"On the expenditure side, we reduced the gross wage fund. The wage coefficient in the public sector was cut by 1%," Radunovic said during a conference in Serbia.
In 2016 the country's primary budget deficit decreased 75.2% year-on-year to 48.1 million euro ($53.9 million), the finance ministry said in February.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it recommends that the Montenegrin government promote reforms to gradually reduce wage and pensions spending, which is relatively high by international comparison. Montenegro's government should also improve local government finances, service delivery, and fiscal accountability, the IMF said back then.