significant investor, which in 2013 advanced on the list of the ten most important foreign direct investors ( 9th ). according to preliminary statistics for 2013, the total inflow of direct investment from germany equals euro 27 million, with the amount of the direct investment from germany reaching euro 111 million, or about 3 % of the overall stock of fdi ( about euro 4, 000 million ). however, this share is lower when compared with foreign capital originating from austria ( 12 %, or euro 478 million as of 2013 ). third, the significance of the german economy for us is perceived also through the prism of foreign exchange inflows based on the macedonian emigrants in germany or the macedonian citizens who are temporarily working in germany. thus, the growth of the german economy is closely correlated with the growth of this, to us, important income flow. bis central bankers ’ speeches generally, the german economy, the companies with german and austrian capital that operate in the republic of macedonia, are extremely important for the local economy. the results of the survey, i. e. the responses of the companies on the assessment of current business conditions and perspectives, at the level of both sector and company, regarding : trade, exports, employees – give an impression that a large percentage of respondents ( over 80 % ) have stable or positive expectations, i. e. claim that the environment is good or that it will improve. this is in line with our projections for 2014, according to which we expect economic growth of 3. 7 %, mainly determined by the growth of exports and fiscal stimulus in the construction sector. also, the imf assumes solid growth of the macedonian economy of 3. 2 % in 2014, which is higher than the growth projected for the regional countries and wider, and provides a clear vision that there is potential for achieving the economic growth. as the central bank, for us, it is extremely important that the surveyed companies largely expect increase in the exports. thus the larger export potential, the higher foreign exchange inflows, i. e. narrowed trade imbalance. after all, in 2013 we witnessed trade deficit narrowing in the trade of goods that equaled about euro 190 million, annually, given the increase in the exports ( of 3. 2 % / 3. 9 % in services ) and a decrease in imports ( of 1. 5 % / 0. 9 % in services ). this improvement in the trade is closely linked to the increase in the production capacity of the economy, i

petar goshev : opening of the joint public information center of the national bank of the republic of macedonia and the world bank address by mr petar goshev, governor of the national bank of the republic of macedonia, at the opening of the joint public information center of the national bank of the republic of macedonia ( nbrm ) and the world bank, skopje, 16 december 2010. * * * dear ms. lilia burunchuk, director of the world bank office in skopje, dear mr. alexander tieman, imf resident representative for the republic of macedonia, your excellencies, dear guests, dear ladies and gentlemen! please allow me to greet you and express my pleasure that today we have the opportunity to attend two important events. the first, which we will gladly enjoy for a longer period of time – the official opening of the joint public information center of the nbrm and the world bank. and the second, the presentation of the annual regional report of the imf, an event which is always extremely interesting because it is an analysis made by a highcaliber institution, such as the imf. dear guests, the partnership of the republic of macedonia and the world bank lasts for nearly two decades. good results of this partnership are evident. the partnership by definition rests on the benefit for both parties, i. e. for all who gathered together in achieving a goal. i do not know which of the two sides, benefited more from the cooperation between the world bank and the republic of macedonia. but i strongly believe that the cooperation with the world bank has played ( and still plays ) very important financial and advisory role in strengthening the institutional capacities of our country and in boosting the economic development. the amount of capital invested by this institution in the republic of macedonia is known, in the years when it was most important to us, when our access to other sources of funds was incredibly difficult and much more expensive. reforms that were and still are implemented in our country with the assistance of the world bank are well known : the judiciary, health care, tax system, pension system, decentralization, increasing competitiveness, etc. the positive role of the world bank in the issues that are extremely important for us is clear, and we call it by the common name – structural reforms, a set of issues without whose advancement we would not have approached the doors of the euro - atlantic integrated systems. i think that for that contribution, i. e. the