allow for non - eu exports. is it safe to assume that the growth factors mentioned previously are a result of the economic zones established within macedonia? yes, most of these fdis in production of tradable goods and their resulting benefits to the overall macedonian economy are located within the economic zones. we have been speaking about the eu and its effect on macedonia ’ s economy. compared to the us, if only marginally, the eu is experiencing a more stagnant rate of growth. you mentioned you see the eu beginning to recover slightly. what is your outlook on the future of the euro zone? this is true ; the us is ahead in terms of growth. the eu economy in q2 of this year went out of recession but remains in a fragile state and questions certainly remain regarding its long term stability. they are not out - of - the - woods yet but are heading in that direction. so, although growth will not be very strong i do not see them entering a recession again. even the hardest hit southern european and mediterranean countries have the potential to see growth as early as next year. which is a positive indicator for our more traditional export firms ; as several of these countries act as their largest trading partners. our confidence is building. if this year we will see a 2. 2 % increase in overall growth we predict next year can yield 3. 5 % and it can certainly grow from there to over 4 % in ensuing years. first - movers entering this market will be the ones benefiting from the immediate and privileged market access do you see macedonia ’ s current inability to enter the eu due to the naming dispute with greece as a component that is putting a relative cap on the growth figures you just mentioned? if we look from an economic point of view, judging from rating agency criteria that takes into consideration political uncertainties such as the ongoing naming issue, it is safe to assume that our rating is lower than what it could be. the resolution of this dispute and the resulting bis central bankers ’ speeches increase in rating will certainly lead to greater investor confidence as well as better terms on financing in the international markets. there would also be access to more eu funds that could be used for critical infrastructure developments. speaking domestically, as the mega - regulator of the financial sector, how do you view the strength of the banking segment in terms of contributing to domestic growth? following the crisis the macedonian banking sector proved to be quite resilient. no banks failed and all were well capitalized.

this year, due to the financial stimulus we are forecasted at 3. 5 %. we were able to mitigate successfully because our public debt was low at around 20 % of gdp which afforded us room for expansion which we used during this crisis period. apart from the macro - economy concerns, the crisis with the euro as a currency helped boost confidence in our domestic currency [ mkd denar ]. this is because people naturally began to wonder what would happen with europe ; therefore, its primary currency. as a result, some people began to orient more towards the mkd. traditionally our country, like most former yugoslavian countries are highly euro - rized, which means people save and use credits in euros, with a 65 % euro to 35 % mkd ratio. during the crisis and continuing today, the ratio of households and their propensity to save in mkd has elevated to 50 %. bis central bankers ’ speeches you have been in your post for 2 years with 5 more remaining. how do you view the future development of the economy based on the government ’ s fdi promotional campaigns that are taking place currently across the globe? we have witnessed in the past 4 – 5 years several very important foreign direct investments. some of them are so large that they already equate to roughly 17 % of our exports, with the majority of the companies focused on component manufacturing for the automotive industry. there are also several large firms that are in the pipeline which have shortlisted macedonia for their capacities. importantly, these incoming large - scale investments are also bringing diversification to our exports, which are traditionally based in textiles, agriculture and metals. it is worth noting that several of these firms not only made the decision to enter macedonia but are currently in expansion mode based off their operational successes here, to the degree that i predict in 3 years the current and pending fdis can equate to 30 % of our exports. of course strong and growing exports are a main target for most countries due to their balancing of payments. in our case, these fdis in automotive and electronics have contributed primarily to our economic growth in regards to manufacturing. other manufacturing sectors are struggling due to their continued dependence on the european union ’ s growth ; as such, their success is dependent upon overall growth and stabilization within the eu, which is showing signs of alleviation. clearly a growing focus is a diversification of export markets. this can be remedied by establishing further value - added capacities in manufacturing which can