faced with, the support in implementing structural reforms is of a vital importance. structural reforms should not stall as they are crucial for paving a way for long - term sustainable growth and higher living standards, which is one of the main missions of the world bank. financial and technical assistance by the world bank will play a key role in this process. rising unemployment and growth in poverty asks for more “ aggressive ” role when it comes to social issues. but, also supporting reforms aimed at improving competitiveness, as well as addressing the issue of “ climate change ” should be priority on the agenda. given the diversity of eca region, assistance tailored to the specifics of the different groups within the region, remains important. it is my personal opinion that the world bank should increase its contribution to the accomplishment of global financial stability. it is rare to find another institution with such an experience. preservation of global financial stability proved to be an issue of utmost importance to both the growth and the fight against poverty. basel ii has been definitively transforming into basel iii. there is a lot of work to be done to promote the micro - prudent and the macro - prudent frameworks. world bank ’ s contribution through its participation in fsb and other international bodies and its cooperation with countries which use its financial and technical assistance is indispensable. i will finish my address with quoting the leaders of the group of twenty from the meeting in london, 2009 : “ we start from the belief that prosperity is indivisible ; that growth to be sustained, has to be shared ; and that our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard - working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world, too ; and must reflect the interest not just of today ’ s population, but of future generations, too. ” thank you for your attention and i wish you a fruitful discussion and a pleasant stay in skopje.

the poor or vulnerable population in the region ( 18 % of the total population has exited this group, since 1999 ). 1 the region has grown quite rapidly, reaping the benefits of increased productivity, to a large extent being explained by the restructuring of the enterprises, technological improvements, enhanced infrastructure and investments in human resources. the cross regional comparison indicates that the eca region is a leader in terms of the gni per capita. what is even more important is the sharp growth of the gni per capita from 6. 265 current international $ in 2000 to 12. 229 current international $ in 2008, thus giving the region a feature of a leader in improving living standards. however, the region is quite a diverse with gni per capita ranging from 1860 current international $ in tajikistan to 18420 current international $ in croatia. this points to the fact that there are big disparities that need to be tackled to speed up the process of convergence which will mean less political and social tensions, less poor and homeless people, and less desperate migrations conducive to expression to different sorts of the world bank annual report, 2009. prejudices and frustrations. for many subregions the role of the world bank is of a crucial importance, in particular for the western balkan, which is heavily lagging behind the leading countries in the region, faced with the problems of undeveloped infrastructure, poor health care systems, high unemployment and socially desperate people, i. e., faced with different forms of dehumanization of the living standards, including problems of climate change. some parts of the subregion sometimes have problems with floods, but in many parts there is permanent lack of even drinking water. macedonia ’ s track record within the relations with the world bank, can be assessed as quite successful. the world bank has been one of the most important partners in the process of designing and implementing important structural reforms. the strong focus of the world bank programs on the financial and the enterprise sectors, public administration, and business environment, has proved to be an important trigger and contributor to the productivity gains and real convergence of the economy. personally, i am deeply grateful to the world bank and the imf for the contribution they have made in overcoming our existential problems. it is my personal opinion, however, that our need for the cooperation with and support of the world bank is more than necessary. we have made some progress, but we have also encountered a lot of problems. the global crisis emphasized a number