domestic currency, as well as financial policies to support economy and maintain the banking system stability. this pandemic crisis, for various reasons, has made the issue of inflation relevant again, putting it in the focus of central banks. and the still ongoing pandemic was followed by another major shock - the war in ukraine, which is not only a human tragedy, but also produces economic cost in the form of inflationary pressures and slowdown of economic recovery. all these crisis episodes remind us that the denar stability is a public good? benefit and crucial for the general economic stability. this illustrates how great our responsibility is as an institution that has a mandate to preserve its stability. but all other incumbents in society also have a responsibility to make their contribution, because we all benefit from 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches the macroeconomic stability. unfortunately, we know that in these turbulent times, speculations have occurred more than once and caused nothing but harm to you, us, the entire economy. on this special day for us, when we celebrate a jubilee that is important not only for the national bank, but also for the homeland and the entire nation, standing in front of you, i once again declare - the denar stability is guaranteed! dear guests, we must always appreciate and respect the achievements of the past thirty years and to praise highly the contribution of all those who have been part of the central bank and managed to build and maintain an institution that is independent, transparent, highly professional, and esteemed in the international community. but i also thank all the incumbents of our society who have been fully aware that an independent central bank is a prerequisite for the future of our story. on behalf of the national bank, allow me to express my genuine appreciation to the international financial institutions that lent our central bank a hand after the monetary independence and to this day have constantly supported us in our efforts to do our utmost for the macedonian economy and citizens. just as an illustration and example, i would like to remind you that in early 2019, we adhered to the highest statistical data dissemination standard of the imf, as the eighteenth country in the world and last year, the european commission adopted a decision assessing that the banking regulations and supervision implemented by the national bank are in line with the standards of the european union. this puts us on the list of only 26 countries in the world that adhered to these standards. still, regardless of the commitment and the standards, without the

and general macroeconomic instability. the effect of all this was experienced by the citizens 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches and all stakeholders in the economy, which was flagging until 1996. we must never forget it, because when the memory of historical events is lost, the potential for critical observation and making the right decisions in the present moment is lost as well. but we do remember! we also remember the series of bold and decisive steps of the then policymakers towards macroeconomic stabilization, further supported by international financial institutions, especially through the first arrangements with the imf and the world bank back in 1993. the results were gradual inflation drop to single digits, enhanced foreign reserves, control of monetary aggregates, and consolidation of the fiscal sector. crucially, in 1995, the monetary strategy of stable exchange rate of the denar was furnished - a strategy that is an anchor of stability of the macedonian economy today. the same year, soon after the adoption of the bank regulation and supervision, the banking system was rehabilitated, and later on transformed on a market basis. six years later, the payment system reform was introduced, along with the building of other central bank capacities, including in the field of statistics, financial market operations, treasury operations and, of course, research as a significant support for the monetary decision - making. all this created preconditions for the 25 - year long monetary chapter of our story to be engraved with macroeconomic stability and compliance with international and european standards. for many years now, the european commission, in its annual progress reports on monetary policy, has noted a high level of compliance with the european legislation. however, in recent years, besides the constant improvement, we have also confronted and responded to a series of challenges, both domestic and global. just to recall the crisis episodes of 2001, 2008 and 2016, when we as a central bank had to deal with a crisis of confidence, unfortunately prompted by numerous speculations. in all these episodes, we faced pressures on exchange rate and foreign reserves. as an example, during the 2008 / 2009 global financial crisis we lost as much as a third of them. there were also periods of bank runs. for example, during the 2001 crisis, the deposits dropped by as much as 8 % in a very short period of time. unfortunately, even in the recent period we have not been spared from serious challenges. the pandemic brought about economic losses, again required the use of foreign reserves to maintain stability of the