Press Release No. 23/97

Statement at the Conclusion of an IMF Mission to Kosovo

March 28, 2023

• The Kosovar authorities and IMF staff have made significant progress toward reaching an understanding on policy priorities and reforms that could be supported by financial arrangements with the IMF.
• Discussions will continue in the coming weeks toward reaching staff-level agreement for the IMF Executive Board's consideration.

Pristina : An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Gabriel Di Bella visited Pristina on March 8 – 24, 2023 to hold discussions on possible financial arrangements with the IMF to mitigate downside risks arising from volatile international food and energy prices and support Kosovo’s efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation, in particular with respect to greening Kosovo’s electricity production. At the end of the visit, Mr. Di Bella made the following statement:

“The IMF mission has been engaged in productive discussions with the Kosovar authorities on policies that could be supported by financial arrangements with the IMF. In this context, there has been agreement on the need to further strengthen fiscal and financial governance; on climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, there was broad agreement on policy actions to strengthen energy efficiency, expand green energy production, and advance in the implementation of actions to reduce emissions and pollution, among other areas.”

“The team is grateful to the authorities for open and constructive discussions. Our dialogue with the Kosovar authorities will continue over the coming weeks with a view to reaching staff-level agreement for the IMF Executive Board's consideration.”