Vucic: Arrangement with IMF by end of year

BELGRADE - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic expressed the belief on Tuesday that the precautionary arrangement between Serbia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be reached by the end of the year.

Serbian officials and the IMF mission are discussing the economic situation in the country and the measures the government is implementing in order to improve the situation in public finance, Vucic told reporters at the Belgrade airport.

The talks between Serbian government representatives and the IMF mission began in Belgrade on Monday and will last around two weeks.

Vucic noted that the talks will not be easy but it is Serbia's wish to conclude them successfully because this would help encourage investments in 2015 and contribute to Serbia's economic development.

If the talks prove successful, we expect the precautionary arrangement to be closed before Catholic Christmas, in other words by the end of the year, Vucic said.

Ahead of the talks with the IMF mission, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Jorgovanka Tabakovic stated that the high foreign currency reserves show that Serbia needs a precautionary and not a new stand-by arrangement.

The precautionary arrangement does not constitute additional debt and it would contribute to the strengthening of Serbia's sustainable development and provide protection from external shocks, Tabakovic said.

Photo Tanjug, D. Stankovic